My Way Back To You
by GrimmoftheQueen
Summary: In a world Salem had destroyed,Ruby has to search the land for Dust and her way back to her husband,Roman.Everyone had split off to ensure their survival until they have the fire power to rid of Salem e world of Remnant is now just a giant wasteland after two the journey for the Void has come for the end, will Ruby ever see her friends or Roman again? AU Rosewick
1. Harsh Reality

It had been a long time since Ruby had seen anyone. Her guess it was over six months since she had seen anyone on her team. They all went their separate ways to keep themselves safe. It was hard hiding from Salem's Grimm and men.

Even though Ruby really missed her older sister, she missed someone else even more...

Roman Torchwick.

It had been almost two years since Salem's reign over Remnant and a year since she saw Roman now. He made the promise to see her again when it came time. Every time the memory came to mind, it broke her heart all over again. Things weren't supposed to be this way.

Right before they had parted ways, they had unofficially gotten married. It was three days in the middle of the hell that was unleashed. No one had objected to the ceremony considering all of their futures were uncertain. Ruby had stayed loyal that whole time and she was certain Roman had as well. He wasn't the asshole everyone had originally thought.

Ruby sat down on a giant rock which probably used to be a building. She knew she was no longer in Vale considering she had crossed the ocean. She was on some outskirt lands by Atlas. Atlas was the first to fall after Pyrrha's death then Mistral, Vale and finally Vacuo even though it was attached to Vale.

Her silver eyes scanned the area in front of her. She was barely breathing just so she could listen. The people left in the world were Salem's minions, survivors or hunters. There was some that were part of gangs trying to rob those that passed through their territory but those kind of people had no chance against her.

Ruby had come across some who had tried to rob her- a few tried to get the upper hand to rape her. She fought to leave them alive but they insisted on fighting her so she ended up having to kill a few people.

Not all of them were bad people. She actually came across a doctor when she was deathly ill with pneumonia. He was one of the nicest people that she came across but on the promise she would never reveal his location. Ruby kept her promise and she hoped he was still alive.

Ruby pulled out an apple and an orange. The world around was over taken by plant and animal life. She became quite the hunter in her tike alone. Even though it sounded selfish, she was glad that she was alone. With things the way they are, everyone would be stressed out.

Ruby had wondered if the others had any luck finding any Dust deposits. Weiss said she would figure out a way to create Dust crystals from powder. Ruby never doubted her team mate once and she knew that she would because of her father's business. That was if… she was still alive.

Everyone was supposed to meet by the Void whenever there was word about where it was. There was another area land mass which Ozpin had suspected she was at but no one was really sure. She knew that Roman had headed that way. There was no way to tell if he did find it or if he was ok.

There really weren't any settlements anywhere above ground only because of the Grimm. There were a lot of Seers around but she hadn't seen one in a few days. Unfortunately, using her semblance would make her easier to spot so she had walk like everyone else. Some action would be nice right about now.

 _I would love a Nevermore or even a Griffon right now. I'm tired of walking and I could just force the thing to let me ride it. I have been hoping for a familiar face this whole time and there isn't a single person._

Ruby sighed.

"Why can't I find something? Some way of getting through to anyone…"

X

X

"How much longer do I have to hold this?" Roman asked rolling his eyes and getting more aggravated.

"I'm almost done wielding this! You can hold still! It's not like anything else is happening right now!" Weiss snapped.

Roman made a face and continued to stand still.

"You're a bitch. I would much rather Yang be here right now."

Weiss stopped and pulled her mask up, glaring at the man.

"If I knew Ruby was dead I would beat your ass and throw you into the ocean."

"So evil."

Weiss pulled her mask back on and finished fixing her Dust presser.

"It makes me nervous living here with you."

Weiss sighed and hung her head.

"I won't kill you in your sleep."

"Well, thanks for that but I mean with all of the Dust crystals."

She made a weird face, "Why does that bother you?" she asked.

"Um, because you might try and shoot me then we would blow just because you're angry."

She ignored his comment and finished up the piece she was working on.

Roman was glad just to let go. He had never imagined he would be married and not even living with his wife but living with her best friend instead. Of course, when he thought of it, the world hadn't come to an end either. He looked at the mud wall thinking of how he couldn't wait for this to end.

End in his death or defeating Salem.

Sometimes, Roman would crack out the liquor bottle and drink with Weiss. More than once they had the same thought… They couldn't wait for this to over with. It had nothing to do with living underground, it was just of the idea of worrying over everyone else.

They had lost a lot of friends. Almost everyone had perished a month after the invasion of Beacon. Roman was a little upset that Neo had refused to go with him but they weren't friends, just partners in crime. She was more under Cinder than him. She listened to anything that vile woman had said but then again, Roman was never on their side anyways.

Despite what everyone had thought about him, Ruby was the only one that figured out he wasn't really a criminal. Roman wasn't a great citizen to begin with but the moment he heard about the crap Cinder and her goons were trying to pull he jumped into her circle to find a way to stop it. If he had never did it, he would more than likely be dead at this moment.

"Are you ok?"

Roman snapped out of his thoughts.

"Wait, what?"

"Are you upset?" Weiss asked, with a worried look on her face.

He gave her a smile.

"Just thinking."

"If you're planning to off yourself, wait another few weeks please."

He glared at her and headed for the sink.

"Professor Oobleck should be here soon anyways."

"You really think he can make a plane that can transport all that crap?"

Weiss shrugged, "It's better than nothing. I am almost done with ten devices so we can talk to each other. It'll operate on a frequency that no one can access."

He looked around the room, "It's just you and me."

"I was… kind of hoping someone would have showed up by now."

"At least you have me."

Weiss smiled, "That's true."

They sat there in silence together. It wasn't really uncomfortable, just more sad and depressing than anything. It was hard to tell if anyone was ok. Blake had tried to make her way to Menagerie to see if her parents were ok through this giant mess. It was hard to tell how long it took to get there with the countless enemies around to attack anyone on sight without question.

"You feel like going to the surface?" Weiss asked.

"Didn't we risk it once this week already," Roman said looking quite surprised by the suggestion, "Why don't we just look through the scopes you made?"

"Are you worried about Ruby?"

Roman's green eyes became dark and he looked away from her.

"I know that Ruby and Yang can make it out there alone. For some reason there's something about them that gives them that will to make it regardless of the situation."

"I guess."

Weiss placed a hand on his shoulder and used her other hand to force his face towards hers.

"Look at me," she snapped.

Roman straightened up.

"I have faith in Ruby to make it back. We are close to the Void and we have eyes in all directions to know if she made it back here. We watch every day, things will be fine. Give her some time… It's been a year."

 _My point exactly… What if she isn't ok after a year?_

 _ **I know, I know with other stories you would think I would be swamped and I'm not... yet lol I already have another idea but I won't start that one for a while. I have the first ten chapters of this story planned out and no it won't be slow. It's not as hardcore Rosewick as the other stories I have but it's centered around Ruby and Roman.**_


	2. Snow

Ruby had been climbing the mountain for a few days and she was finally hitting the snow. She had packed some pants in her small back pack she had just in case she ran into some cold weather. Weiss had complained Atlas got colder than most places in Remnant. She was almost there it felt like it.

"I'm going to be there soon, Roman. Please just wait longer."

Her thoughts had turned to Yang lately. It was almost her sister's birthday. Ruby knew it was useless to keep track of the days but it made her feel secure like she had some small control over her life. She stopped in her tracks and looked down to see the ground shaking some. Something was coming for her.

She looked around wildly waiting to see the creature coming for her. It wasn't going to help with the snow starting to get heavier. She started running, hoping to find someplace to hide. Grimm didn't tire out like she did.

Instead of regular running, she used her semblance to burn through that snow faster. She skidded to a halt a few times just to make sure that she wasn't going to run into anything. The shaking seemed more far away now but she still had to be on the lookout. She found a small cave, but it seemed more like a crawl space than anything.

She crawled in and looked around. It was dark and she could barely see but the only thing she saw in there was a few small deer. They raised their heads staring at her but they didn't make any other movements. Ruby made a few holes through the top of the cave breaking through rock and ice.

Ruby went through the cave seeing other people had been in there before leaving behind piles of wood and dried leaves. She really hoped no one was living there but the animals. She started a fire, sparking off two fire Dust crystals. The animals jumped slightly but then realized the fire was warm and inched closer to it. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

She was getting tempted to roll up what was left of her cape to use as a pillow. She wanted to use it as a blanket but she wanted a pillow. Ruby rolled up her cape and laid a little closer to the fire she had made. She stared up at the holes she had made, seeing the snowstorm outside rage on.

" _Ruby… Listen to me-_

" _No! I refuse to believe splitting up is the best choice! Why can't we stick together?!" Ruby screamed, shaking with rage._

 _Yang and Roman looked at each other._

" _Is this because they don't like you?" Ruby hissed staring at her sister._

" _Ruby, I'm over it already. I swear to you!" Yang cried, "If we travel in a large group Salem might see us."_

 _Ruby's bottom lip quivered as she stared at them._

" _Baby, listen… I don't want to separate from you but I think this is best. I am as scared as you are but I want you to be alive. I don't want you to die."_

 _Ruby broke down and Yang was right behind her. The blonde was strong, but with everything that had happened lately, she was losing it too._

 _"I don't care about the crap that used to happen now... I just want you to be OK."_

 _Weiss stayed quiet in the background holding Yang's new arm._

 _"Ruby I want to stick together but... I can't do this knowing you're so upset. I need you to understand."_

 _"Roman... I want everyone to be OK. I already lost my dad and uncle. I don't even know if Blake is OK."_

 _Roman embraced her._

 _"When this all over... We will start our life. I promise to give you everything you ever wanted. Please Ruby..." he pleaded._

Ruby opened her eyes seeing that the deer had huddled on her legs keeping her warm. The fire had gone out and some snow had blown in. She rubbed her face and looked at the sleeping creatures again. She really had to pee but she wasn't going to bother them.

A few tears ran down her face. This was the most peace she had in a while. She felt like she had taken everything for granted when she was at Beacon but did she really? She had suffered early on losing her mother. Her father was distant. Yang was searching for her mother Raven.

At least she had Roman now.

Or so she hoped still.

Ruby needed to start traveling again to find a lake or pond. Her favorite thing was to fish at a lake for a few days then move on. If she was getting closer then she needed her strength. She pulled out a few apples. They started to get a little soft but she was still going to eat one.

She took a bite and the deer woke up staring at her. Ruby smiled and rolled over an apple to each of them. Even if the world turned evil and cold didn't mean she had to be.

Ruby wanted to close her eyes again and sleep but it was time to start moving. She rose from her spot as the small animals watched her crawl back into the cold wilderness.

X

X

"You're getting on my nerves!" Yang screamed.

Neo smiled and pulled the blonde's hair again. Yang whipped around grabbed the collar of Neo's tattered jacket lifting her into the air slightly.

"I'm trying to stay alive and you are making it hard for me to stay calm. Please for the love of god stop!" Yang hissed and Neo smirked at her.

Yang wasn't enjoying this in any way. She had found Neo nearly dead back in the shores of Vacuo and now she wished she had left her tiny ass there. Neo was unconscious at that time but Yang would've felt too guilty leaving her there. Part of her wished for the company but now...

She would rather be alone.

"No one is stopping you from being quiet."

Yang dropped the small woman and rubbed her face in annoyance.

"We can go our separate ways I wouldn't complain," the blonde said but Neo shook her head.

"I like hanging with you. The apocalypse is boring and you make it entertaining."

Yang wanted to punch her.

"Part of this is your doing for teaming up with Cinder. I don't even know why you're here to be honest. Go back to them," she said flatly.

The cocky smile fell from her dirty face.

"I'm out here for a reason."

"Because you're an annoying little bitch?"

"Partly but no one wanted to work with me but Roman. He was the only one who adapted to my fighting style without problems and then to find out he was some kind of anti hero this whole time."

Yang's expression softened.

Ruby had tried to tell them that Roman had nothing to do with Cinder but no one wanted to listen. They all treated Ruby like crap until the world fell apart. Even then they learned what Roman's real motives were, hearing it from Neo confirmed it. She stopped in her tracks to brush her dirty blonde hair out of her face.

"What?"

Yang snapped out of her thoughts.

"Nothing. If you're gonna keep following please be less annoying."

"I'll try but no promises."

They walked a few miles before Neo opened her mouth again.

"Have you had a boyfriend before?"

Yang looked down to see the curious expression on her face.

"No."

"Why not? You seem pretty enough."

Yang smiled, "Fighting was more important."

"What about a girlfriend?"

"I'm not gay."

Neo snickered, "Says the girl who never had a boyfriend."

Yang shot her a dirty look but stayed quiet.

"Have you ever seen a pen-

"How old do you think I am?" Yang snapped, "I'm eighteen now... Gonna be nineteen I think soon. I never had time for that."

"I'm twenty-seven."

Yang stared at her dumbfounded.

"I am older than Roman. He's only twenty-two."

"You're kidding."

"Naw. Roman is under a lot of stress so he looks older. Make his and your sister's relationship a lot less wrong, doesn't it?" Neo said eyeing the blonde.

"I guess."

"He's really not a bad guy. Honestly he'd be the only guy I would sleep with if I had to make a choice."

"You're... A lesbian?"

"Yes. Are you surprised?"

Yang nodded.

"I'm not so evil, now am I?"

"You are. You tried to kill me."

"And you saved my life. What does that say about you?"

"I'm a sad sap that can't say no apparently."

Neo smirked but she froze. She grabbed Yang's hand and pulled her into the nearest chunk of rubble. They crawled into a hole getting scraped and cut. They heard sniffing and scraping like nails on chalkboard.

Neo was on top of Yang clinging to her for dear life. Yang realized they were both shivering. Even with Neo being a lot older, she was terrified too. Neither one was sure if it was Grimm or actual animals out there but Yang was glad she threw them into the hole.

Yang wasn't sure how long they were there but it was long enough for Neo to fall asleep on her. The woman's head rested on her breasts like they were pillows. She wanted her off but she would feel bad about it. Everyone deserved some peace and quiet.

Yang closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Neo. The spot wasn't comfortable but at least they didn't have to worry about someone spotting them.

X

X

Ruby had been through the snow for a few hours now. The clouds there were so thick it was hard to tell what time of day it was. She was starting to get colder every hour that passed. She stopped seeing a cliff.

Ruby inched near it scrapping off the snow seeing where the actual ground dropped off. Sometimes in the cliffs there was small caverns and she needed to get warm again. Just as she leaned over she saw someone in the snow twenty feet below.

She knew those black and gray clothes.

It was Mercury Black.

Ruby felt a rage well up inside her. She was so angry as she stared at him as he fumbled through the snow. She was blinded by the rage almost not able to see the fact he was in pretty bad shape. She grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled slightly to bring herself back in focus before she did anything stupid.

Ruby jumped down into the snow, glaring at him fiercely. Mercury stood there for a few minutes like he couldn't believe she was there. He rubbed his eyes hard enough to see black spots dance across his vision. He stared hard at her again.

"Mercury Black."

"Are you really there?"

"Yes I am. And I'm going to kick your ass!"

 _ **Some chapters will shorter than others and I'll update this story twice a week since I have up to chapter 10 done. It won't be a slow story like some of the zombies movies all of you may have seen. I liked this idea but it won't super long like some of my other stuff. Sometimes short and sweet is the best way to go**_


	3. Travel Buddies

Mercury backed off a few feet before he fell into the snow.

"What's wrong Mercury? What happened to that asshole who framed my sister… Had one of my best friends murdered. Yes _murdered,_ even if she was a robot. Where is the asshole who helped destroy the world?"

He just stared at without a single word.

Maybe the whole scene before him… seeing her like this was a little scary. She was dirty, freezing and the look in her eye said she was on the brink of insanity. It was clear to him that she had been alone most of the time and that she might really just kill him. He even felt his sanity slipping since he had been out on his own.

She inched toward him, switching Crescent Rose to its gun form.

 _Fuck… she is going to kill me…._

Even though Ruby really wanted to shoot him, she hit him in the side of the head to knock his out for a short while. She dragged his limp body through the snow while she looked for a new place to rest for a while. She was slightly glad for some social interaction even if it was Mercury. She needed time to think about what she wanted to do with him before he woke up.

X

X

Blake sat on one of the jagged rocks by the ocean. She barely made it back to the edge of Vale or what was left of it. She unfortunately made a "friend" on her way back to meet her friends. Adam Taurus had decided to tag along and he had called truce for the time being. It was slightly easier this time around because she had decided not to take his crap.

A month ago, she had found Sun but he was traveling with Neptune. Neither one of them wanted to travel with Adam and she couldn't quite blame them since she didn't want too either. Even by herself, some stuff was difficult and it would be better to travel with someone to have her back just in case.

" _Where are you two going to go?" Blake asked staring at Sun._

" _We don't know. We want to rebuild some place but it's hard with the Grimm."_

" _We are going to deal with Salem," Blake announced._

" _Well, good luck," Neptune said looking skeptical._

" _We have to try!" she said becoming upset and slightly annoyed._

" _She already destroyed the world. What could we do against someone like that?" Sun whispered._

 _He was hurt just like the rest of them._

" _So, you just want to sit around waiting for her to come after whoever is left? That's what will end up happening!"_

" _Blake," Sun said, placing his hands on her shoulders, "We tried once already and we lost a lot of people. You lost your parents and you aren't even sure if they're alive. We lost everything."_

" _I know but I have to try instead of sitting around waiting for my death!" she yelled, "What kind of life is that?"_

 _Neptune and Sun looked at each other._

" _What kind of life is it to fight for nothing? Shouldn't you be able to enjoy the time you may have left?" Sun asked quietly._

 _Blake said nothing as she stormed away but she stopped. She turned around to see Neptune and Sun had started walking away._

" _Sun! Neptune!"_

 _They stopped, turning slowly around._

" _Until next time! When we beat her… You can come back and join us!"_

 _The two men gave her a sad smile and nodded._

" _We will!" Sun yelled._

"I know that look."

Blake looked to her right seeing Adam sharpening his sword.

"You're thinking about something upsetting."

"So?"

"Why upset yourself? You can't change the past."

Blake rolled her eyes and started walking faster.

"Blake, I wasn't trying to upset you…" Adam called to her but she didn't care.

Their past relationship was complicated and now it was worse. It was a week into them traveling together when she caved in for a hug. Then a week later, hugs turned into sleeping beside each other then kissing then sex. She hated herself for it but she just couldn't say no.

How could she? She had left first and alone without anyone to go with her. To see someone she knew… It made her feel ten times better than she was. She couldn't deny some of the last few pleasures in this world. The worse part was… he was becoming lovey dovey and it was driving her mad.

"Blake!"

Adam caught up to her grabbing her hand.

"Listen… I know… I know I'm being an ass. I just don't think it's good for you to be upset at this time. Trust me… Cry after it's all done and everything will be ok."

A small smile crept onto her lips.

"Fine. Let's just keep going…"

Night was starting to set quickly and it meant it was time to find some place to hide. Blake and Adam had gotten good at making stable structures with the rumble they could find. The best ones were rocks so they could nap without issues of Grimm finding them. They managed to find a set of wooden doors which meant it was a basement.

Adam held up his hand and went in first checking everything.

"I don't see anyone down here."

"That's good. There isn't… you know… skeletons are there?"

"It's hard to see but we can look better once we get down there."

Blake swallowed hard.

It wasn't the fact of seeing a skeleton- it was the small ones that hurt the most. It meant small children died. Even Adam had a sad look on his face when they would come across them. This world was supposed to be ok even with the Grimm but it was wiped out so quickly by one woman and her ability to create creatures from darkness.

Blake pulled out some flint and the piece of wood out of her bag. She caught the end of it on fire and they looked around. There were no skeletons. There were some cans of food and some puddles of mud and sludge but it was ok.

"Let me get this metal rod and stick it through the door handles. Just in case someone or something comes along," Adam said dismantling a pantry shelving unit.

"Ok. After that, I'll put the fire out."

Soon, they were sitting in darkness.

"I'm glad we got to wash off before coming here but I still wished I had shampoo."

Adam chuckled, "I actually agree. I miss hot showers."

They always had the same conversations. They had managed to avoid the most important one or few of them.

"I hope we find a lake. I want some fish."

Blake laughed, "You were just complaining about the fish we ate from the ocean. You were so sick of it."

"I guess fried fish would be better. I would kill for a cheeseburger."

They were sitting by each other against the wall that was dry and less dirty. Adam slipped his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze.

"I want to say thank you Blake."

"Hm? For what?"

"For letting me go with you. I felt myself going crazy. I didn't think I was going to last much longer. I was ready to kill myself honestly."

"You saved me too."

They sat in silence for a while.

"Blake?"

"Hm?"

"I need to confess something."

Blake's heart skipped a beat.

"I know… in the beginning I was a horrible person but I would like to say this whole apocalypse thing has changed me… a lot. I didn't treat you right… this time I want too though. I think after this time… I fell in love with you."

Blake couldn't see anything but she looked in his direction. He sounded like he wanted to cry.

"Adam… I-

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want too. I just wanted to get that out there just in case anything happened."

"We will be fine… We will meet with Ruby, Roman, Yang and Weiss… Things will be fine!"

He kissed her. His face felt wet like there was tears running down his face.

"I love you Blake," Adam whispered softly against her lips.

X

X

"Ugh…"

Ruby looked up to see Mercury finally coming around.

"I thought maybe I'd kill you at first."

He looked across the space to see Ruby sitting there with a bucket full of water and a wash rag.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I melted the snow into a bucket I found. There was stuff from an old camp site so I used it. I haven't had a bath in forever. You wanna use it next? You look worse than me."

"Are you going to kill me?" Mercury asked.

Ruby smirked evilly, "Only if you try anything stupid."

"That doesn't make me feel better honestly."

"Good. You shouldn't feel good at all."

Mercury bit his tongue. She was angry.

"How did you manage to stay alive all this time?" Mercury asked trying to change the subject.

"Stealth and luck."

"I mean… you have to eat, don't you? How did you find anything in this waste land? I haven't eaten in days…"

Ruby pointed to front part of the cave they were in. It was a fire going with ten fish on sticks just cooking away. His mouth started to water some. He realized the smell coming from it and he wanted some so bad.

"It'll be a little bit longer."

He looked back at Ruby who offered him the first warm smile he had seen in months.

"Well… Tell me why you're out here?" Ruby said and he shifted in his spot.

"Are you fishing for information?" he asked flatly and she smiled.

"Not yet. I'm curious as to why one of Cinder's lackeys are out here in the wasteland of nothing. Did Salem kick you guys out?"

"No. I left."

"Really?" she asked, intrigued.

"Really, really."

"Why?"

"Because. I was tired of the way things were going. I was being told what to do constantly and suddenly everyone was getting suspicious of everyone else. I don't know why or what happened for things to be that way. I wasn't sure if someone was going after Salem and no one wanted to say.

"Emerald actually wasn't ok with the whole thing from the very beginning but she is so in love with Cinder it's almost sickening. I had asked her if she wanted to go but she refused saying Cinder needed her… So, I left alone. It was almost a mistake honestly. I never realized what happened out here."

Ruby looked surprised but she stayed quiet.

"I thought maybe I was dying when I saw you in the snow," Mercury said and her gaze softened.

"Why?"

"I thought everyone was dead."

Ruby crawled over to the fire and started pulling out the sticks. She stuck them into the ground in front of Mercury and then went back for hers.

"Go ahead and eat in a few minutes. It'll be really hot right now."

"You're being really generous even though you knocked me out."

Ruby cracked a smile.

"I thought I should give you a chance first."

"I see."

They sat in silence while they ate their fish. Mercury could've swore than was the best thing he had ever eaten in his life it was so good. He ate like an animal while Ruby ate like a normal civilized person. She couldn't help but feel good about herself even if she did knock his lights out first.

"Would you like me to take you somewhere?" Ruby asked.

"Like where?" he said with a mouth full of food.

"I'm not wandering around to stay alive. I'm going after Salem."

Mercury stared at her.

"Are you serious?" he whispered, "By yourself?"

"At some point, I plan on meeting back with Roman, Weiss, Yang and hopefully Blake. This is what we have planned but the details are up to Weiss. She has better ideas than anyone else. Once I get closer, I'll be sure to find them. Can you help me or do you want me to take you somewhere?"

Mercury made a face. They stayed silent for a few minutes while he thought about it.

"I can show you."

She grinned so happily, Mercury blushed a little bit.

"I guess this makes us traveling buddies," he said.

"It does. Even if you decide that you wouldn't want to help just point me in the right direction. I'll understand."

"I'll be sure to do that."

"Let's sleep here for a while. I'm beat and you're heavy."

Mercury made a face but he watched as she laid down on the ground, closing her eyes.

 _ **I had to think... What would they do if Salem did take out the human and Faunus? Wouldn't that be a good story? Then what if someone had warned them before hand... someone they couldn't trust? If this were to ever happen what would we do? It would be hard sticking around with someone you didn't like but what could you do?**_


	4. Metal Arm

Ruby and Mercury managed to make it out of the snowy mountains to the base of them now. When they were coming down, she was able to see the ocean. She saw a long stretch of land that went out into the ocean for a few miles and knew that was the way to go.

Mercury had been quiet for most their walk down the mountain.

Ruby did finally ask him if he saw any one of her teammates but he had said no. They made it without running into any Grimm along the way which was good for him. He had no Dust shots for his legs at all and he had no weapon. Ruby was only carrying around her one weapon so he would end up depending on her to save him.

"Ruby?"

"Hm?"

"That long stretch of land that we saw. We have to be careful. Honestly… it would be best to wait here until daylight tomorrow."

Ruby turned around.

"Why?"

"That place is crawling with aquatic Grimm. Some of them can come out of the ocean."

Ruby stared at him.

"I know because I crossed that patch of water myself."

"Really?" Ruby asked, rather surprised.

"I had a raft there. I hope no one took it. Or hopefully it didn't get destroyed."

"You didn't just swim?"

"Um no… I wasn't in the mood to die."

She laughed and started walking again.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Dark humor I guess."

"I don't understand you."

"You don't have to."

Mercury scratched his head deciding to stay quiet.

"I don't mind you talking to me."

"Are you that lonely?" he asked with an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Some but I can kill you for me a smart ass."

His mouth twitched a little but he kept on smiling anyways.

"What are you in the mood to talk about?"

Ruby tapped her chin, "Why are you a bad guy?"

"You mean 'why was I?' I think at this rate I am neutral or even good. I had an abusive father."

"I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. It's just how some things are."

"Things should never be that way," Ruby said softly and Mercury shrugged.

"I wanted out and I did get out. I killed him because I got tired of his shit and I burnt down the house. Ironically that same night Cinder came looking for my father and found me instead. I didn't have anywhere to go so why not? I would've rethought my decision if I knew how the future would've turned out."

Ruby got quiet.

"What about you? Why are you such a good girl huh?" Mercury asked teasing her.

"I always dreamed of being a hero like in the fairytale books."

"This is your chance I guess."

"That is true. I never wanted things to be this way. I never realized people were that bad. I always dreamed I would be saving people and villages from Grimm not from corrupted people. Sometimes I go back and ask myself if evil really exists and I can never figure out the answer. Who decides the difference between good and bad?"

"That's some deep shit Ruby."

"I know but it's the truth."

"You don't think Salem is evil?" Mercury asked.

She stopped and turned around, "I don't know. The things she does is evil but is she evil? Everyone does something and their choices don't always define who they are as a person."

Mercury grabbed the edge of Ruby's very tattered cloak as she tried to turn around and start walking again. She felt the tug. Her eyes met Mercury's. There were so many emotions in those black eyes of his and none of which she could read. They stood there in the snow for about ten minutes before he let go.

"Salem is evil and so is her choices. She doesn't even treat her lackeys right. There's all kinds of good and bad in this world. Salem is the definition of pure chaotic evil."

"Well, you've seen her up close so I believe you."

They started walking again.

X

X

"I feel like it's been days and we haven't passed a freakin lake or pond," Neo groaned.

"I can't do anything about that."

"I can't believe they tore down everything. I want some new clothes. It's been a while since I found a store or anyone's closet."

Yang smiled at the petite girl but she stayed quiet. Neo had been making very obvious advances towards her but she chose to ignore them.

"It's so sad that this what the world had come too. I mean… the human race was reduced to nothing… There won't be any shopping or even an arcade to go to after this."

Yang busted out laughing.

"What the hell is so funny?"

"You sound like Ruby and Weiss mixed together."

Neo smiled, "I'm glad I could make you laugh."

"Thanks. Sometimes I need it. I wish things would be the same afterwards too but it'll take time."

"So… you guys are really going to fight her huh?" Neo asked and Yang nodded.

"What other choice do we have?"

"I guess that's true. What happens if you don't win?"

Yang looked down at her with an unreadable expression.

"What?"

"We… um… had decided if that was the case we would rather die than continue in this world as her slaves… if it came down to that."

Neo made a face, "That's pretty dark."

"The dark truth."

"You think you guys can do it?"

Yang stopped and ran her hand across her face in annoyance.

"Sorry. Wasn't trying to bother you."

"It's ok. We are going to try."

"I guess that's better than waiting."

"Honestly… I was kind of hoping you would help," the tall blonde said quietly.

Neo looked at her in shock. Yang couldn't look her in the eye.

"You trust me that much to help you?"

"I do some and you are stronger than me."

An uncomfortable silence fell between them.

They continued walking without another word for a long while. Yang had finally admitted Neo had bested her and that she was in fact stronger than her. Yang had some self loathing since that day on the train but there wasn't much she do but train to get stronger. Her problem was she allowed her emotions to get the better of her and that was her fault.

"I think your mechanical arm looks cool."

Yang smiled down at her traveling companion.

"Thanks," she said with a chuckle.

"I can't imagine losing a limb like that. I bet it sucked ass."

"It did."

Neo started inching closer to Yang until they almost touching arms.

"Who gave you the new arm?"

"Weiss. It is Atlas technology."

"That was cool of her."

Yang nodded.

"Did it hurt though?"

"Yea. Weiss did her best to be gentle but she did warn it would be painful. Almost more painful than losing the arm itself."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Trust me… It was bad…"

" _Ok… I had Ironwood tell me the directions of how to do this but he mentioned it was extremely painful."_

" _How painful?" Yang asked staring at Weiss._

" _Enough to make you pass out. He said it would hurt more than losing your arm…"_

" _You're shitting me."_

" _No."_

 _They were in some crappy shack underground so no one would hear, except Ruby and Roman in the other room. Part of her didn't even want to do this. She didn't know how much more pain she could handle before she lost her mind. She wasn't mad at anyone but Weiss was being cautious just in case her anger flared up._

" _What else did he tell you?"_

" _I can explain the process if you want."_

" _Ok… Tell me."_

 _"Normally… they would knock you out and have you on the monitor to make sure you were ok but since there's no more hospitals, we have to do it while you're awake. He said there's a special base for it. It has nine giant needles. It'll sink into your sink and once blood hits them, they flare out into strings. The strings will attach to your nerves traveling to your brain."_

 _Yang swallowed hard._

" _A-and?"_

" _Then it's up to your body to accept it or reject it."_

" _What happens if it rejects?"_

 _Weiss stared at Yang like she didn't want to say._

" _W-weiss… I need you to be truthful here. I can take it."_

 _"The worse case of rejection is that the fibers or strings try to stay and your body attacks the fibers killing itself. Killing you… Then um… if it works, the fibers receive the information from your brain and recede back. Then I hook in the arm after two minutes. The hooking up of the arm hurts a lot less but enough to make you vomit apparently."_

" _Oh my god…" Yang groaned. Nothing happened yet but she felt sick._

" _I am so sorry Yang. You need a second arm… Especially now."_

" _I know. Go ahead Weiss. I'm ready."_

 _Weiss pulled out the black base. Yang could see those thick needles and it made her stomach turn. Weiss placed the arm next to Yang just in case anything happened. Yang held up the stub and she closed her eyes. She started taking deep breaths. She wasn't ready._

" _1….2….3!" Weiss screamed and she thrust the metal needles into Yang's upper arm._

" _ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

 _Yang nearly jumped off the bed and she felt her body convulse. She turned her head to the side and puked all over the floor forcibly enough to pee herself too. Weiss was in tears but she held it together as she started counting in her head as yang continued to puke. This was the worse thing she had ever had to do to someone._

" _Alright Yang! I don't know if you can hear me but… 5….4…3…2….1!" Weiss screamed as she slammed the arm into the base._

 _Another wave of nausea hit Yang like a ton of bricks. This time she puked on Weiss and the floor, even herself. Yang's body started to go into shock. She felt cold, sweaty and she was shaking badly. Weiss puked by the table and grabbed a small, brown case out of the box the arm came in._

 _It was a syringe filled with a black liquid._

" _W-weiss! Please! No more! I can't!" Yang begged ignoring the shock in her body._

" _I-I'm so sorry! It's the only… way to ensure you make it! Your body isn't reacting r-right!"_

 _Weiss stabbed the stub by the base and Yang screamed in horror. It felt so horrible like something was invading her body. She shuddered violently and felt herself starting to drool. There was loud banging on the door and Yang heard Ruby's voice but she was so far away._

" _It's fine! Don't open the door! Just get me a bucket of water and whatever soap you can ok!" Weiss screamed._

"I was out for three days. Weiss made makeshift diapers for me and Ruby would change me apparently. It was the worst thing I had ever felt in my life."

"For fuck's sake…"

"It wasn't pretty. I am able to joke about it sometimes but it still scars me some."

Neo shook her head, "I can't imagine doing that."

"No one can."

"Can… Can I touch it?" Neo asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Yang smiled, "Sure."

She rolled up her sleeve and Neo stared at her arm in amazement.

"Can you feel when I touch it?"

"Yes and no. It's hard to describe."

"Wow… It fits you though. You look dangerous and sexy."

Yang's face turned bright pink.

"T-thanks I guess."

"Well…" Neo said looking around, "Time to find a place to stay for the night."

"I didn't even notice the sun was setting."

"Let's hurry," Neo said, grabbing Yang's metal hand.


	5. Friends That Become Family

Roman sat there staring at the dirt wall. He didn't expect anything to happen and he was bored. He struggled between being bored out of his mind and being aggravated that Weiss needed his help. The small Ice Queen was asleep.

They were running out of multivitamins and other things that substituted for food. The both of them never complained about hunger or being thirsty. Sometimes they would talk about food they used to eat or make. It was just small chit chat.

The one thing they agreed on was it was a painful struggle going to the surface. The Grimm were thick where they were camped at. Night time was the best for them to go out. The water was four miles out and the woods was three miles out.

They had decided that the open area with rubble was the best place to go. Weiss might have been a spoiled brat but she was very knowledgeable. She built the bunkers underneath without too many problems. He was blown away by her ability to stay calm.

He shuddered thinking of Yang's screams when she put in that Atlas machine arm. Weiss kept it calm until she came out of the room and melted down.

"Are you okay?"

Roman turned around hearing Weiss' soft voice.

"Yea... Just thinking."

He looked at her good when he realized she had been crying. Her eyes were red and her nose was pink. Everything must've caught to her finally. Without another word, Roman stood up and walked towards her. Weiss gasped slightly as he wrapped his arms around her.

Weiss' head rested on his chest. She could hear his heart beating slow and steady. Her eyes started to well up with tears and she started crying again. Weiss felt so horrible that it was Ruby's husband hugging her but she couldn't help it. She needed human contact even if it was just a hug.

It took her a little while to calm down and regain herself.

"This is nice," Roman said out loud.

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

"Despite this horrible event, it seems I gained a little sister throughout the whole thing. A little sister who is ten times smarter than me."

Weiss busted out laughing and pulled away.

"You're a dork."

"Ruby has told me the same."

Weiss smiles sadly, "Hopefully soon. We can make fun of you together."

"Are you in the mood to share a can of retried beans?" Roman asked offering her a goofy smile.

"Sure… Big Brother."

For a few hours, they worked on some more Dust crystals and then decided for a nap before sunset. They geared up to head out into the night once it hit about six in the evening. Weiss had fixed up Roman's cane to have a sword and to fire off shots. They each had an extra sword on their backs just in case.

At some point Weiss had found several White Fang masks and decided to keep them. They were dressed in all black, wearing toboggans to hide their hair. Weiss had actually hacked some of her hair off almost a year ago and it had grown back to the middle of her back making it hard to hide it without the help of bobby pins.

"It's been a few months since we had to do this," Roman said, "I never thought I would end up being as skilled as a huntsman."

Weiss snickered, "You learned from the best that's why."

Roman gave her a cheesy grin and pulled himself out of the bunker. He pulled Weiss up and they covered up the man hole to their bunker. They held hands and took off running. This was the best way to ensure they stayed close together until it was time to fight. The two of them moved fast and quick to dodging rocks and debris. It was hard to see what they were passing and it would be better to look in the morning.

It was about eleven at night when they reached the water. They collapsed onto the sand out of breath. It had been more of an adrenaline rush while they got there. It was odd that there wasn't any Grimm around but they stayed on high alert regardless.

"Are you ready for a bath?" Weiss asked.

"I can't wait!" he said.

They both started stripping leaving their clothes into a pile then ran for the ocean water. About three years ago it would've been frowned upon running to open water naked in front of your best friend's husband but now it was pretty normal. Even if the water had salt in it, they felt clean and refreshed. It was about twenty minutes when they stopped swimming around.

"I hear something..." Weiss whispered.

Roman lowered himself into the water. They did see a shadow on the beach making their hearts race. Neither one had a weapon on them since they were naked. The shadow stopped in the beach and waved at them. Roman and Weiss looked at each other in confusion.

"Let's swim back more," Roman whispered.

"Miss Schnee? Is that you?"

"Is that Bartholomew?" Roman whispered.

"Hold on... We've been all taught how to speak that dead language. If it's one of our people then he can talk back."

Weiss started speaking in some foreign language they all had decided to learn in the bunkers. It was an idea of Blake's actually. When the final battle came they could communicate without the enemy knowing what they are saying. It was an old Faunus language from five hundred years ago.

The shadow laughed.

 _ **"Ah, yes! Very smart of you Weiss!"**_

Roman and Weiss smiled.

" _ **Come join us!"**_ Weiss called.

X

X

" _Shut up! Someone is coming!" Roman hissed into Ruby's ear._

 _He had a hand over her mouth and she stopped kicking his legs as he held her off the ground._

" _What if they see me?" she asked with her voice muffled._

 _Roman looked around frantically and rattled an empty trashcan. He pulled the lid off and dropped her in. He ended up hitting her head really hard with the metal lid but she bit her lip as the footsteps got closer. She barely wanted to breathe._

" _Where is she?"_

 _To Ruby that voice sounded so familiar._

" _I don't know. I think she ran up the building," Roman said, "I don't know honestly."_

" _She ran up the building? That's so stupid."_

" _Well jackass, it doesn't take a genius to know her semblance is speed and if she runs fast enough she can go up. It's physics ass."_

" _You're an asshole."_

" _Makes two of us."_

" _Hurry up. She wants us to meet her in a few hours."_

 _The footsteps disappeared and Ruby felt like she was sitting in there for an eternity. She was just too scared to get out of the trashcan._

 _ **Why did this have to happen to me? I just saw him down the alley and I thought he was up to no good and I chased him… Then he saves me? What happened? Why did this happen?**_

" _Red? Are you ok?"_

 _She tapped the trashcan twice and he pulled the lid off. Roman stared at her with his emerald eyes shining brightly._

" _I-I'm fine. Can you help me?"_

 _Roman reached in and slipped his hands up her armpits pulling her out._

" _T-thanks."_

" _Why are you following me into alley ways? Didn't your mom teach you that was dangerous?" Roman asked giving her a small smile._

" _I thought you were up to no good."_

 _He shook his head, "Red, you can't be following me around. There's some scary people as my bosses."_

" _Then you shouldn't be a bad guy."_

 _Roman leaned in closer._

" _Sweetie, I am the bad guy you want on your side. Because not all bad guys are as bad as you think."_

 _Ruby's poor heart was ready to pound out of her chest._

" _I don't know what that means."_

" _Pretty girls shouldn't ask so many questions."_

 _She swallowed hard._ _ **Time to be brave and bold. Yang always says confidence is key and it would usually throw off the other person if it came out of nowhere.**_

" _If you're going to kiss me then do it," Ruby stated giving him a cocky look, "You're close enough for it."_

 _Well, it didn't work._

 _Roman picked her up and pinned her against the wall, kissing her and tangling his finger in her short hair. He pulled on it slightly baring her pale neck. He started trailing kisses down her neck then her collar bone. Ruby wrapped her legs around his waist as she shivered with excitement and fear._

 _After a few intense minutes of making out, he left a few hickeys on her shoulder and neck. He lowered her down slowly and she straightened up her dress. They stared at each other for several minutes. The same thought running through their head – what the hell just happened?_

 _X_

X

Roman barely listened as Weiss and Bartholomew talked about the plane and the Dust Crystals they had been making together. He remembered when his biggest problem was going to jail for being in love with a fifteen-year old girl. It might be stupid for a man to think it but his heart hurt. The love of his life was lost or dead somewhere.

Roman sighed.

"What?" Weiss and the professor said.

"Huh?"

"You just sighed," Weiss said staring at him.

"I guess I did."

"Are we boring you?"

Roman stared at the fire before him, "No. I'm just… thinking about the past."

Weiss grinned widely, "I do that sometimes too."

"I just wish I could've done more to prevent this whole thing."

Weiss and Bartholomew looked at each other sadly.

"Roman… There wasn't much you could do about it all alone. Honestly, when we find out about you and Ruby… We should've listened to you both…. We were wrong but who would have guessed that you were telling the truth when you seemed like a bad guy."

He stood up and grabbed his dried clothes.

"I need to sit alone if that's ok."

 _ **It makes me feel awesome when I have the same people reading the stories I post. I'm glad people like the things I create, thank you everyone!**_


	6. Confession of Unconventional Love

" _Ruby?"_

 _She looked up at him._

 _"Yes?"_

 _They had been going out for about four months now. They had been disguising themselves and meeting at hotels on the weekends in Roman's free time. She was lying under the comforter watching TV while he took a shower. Ruby gave him a bright smile and it killed him inside._

 _"We need to talk."_

 _Her heart dropped._

 _"What happened? What did I do?"_

 _"I can't do this anymore."_

 _Ruby just stared at him._

 _"Are... You breaking up with me?" she whispered._

 _"No. I'm tired of hiding this. I don't want to keep coming here and hiding. I know our age difference is a problem but you'll be sixteen soon."_

 _Ruby shifted uncomfortably._

 _"Yang and the rest will have to get over it."_

 _She sat still not moving a muscle but her heart was racing and she wanted to cry._

 _Roman sat on the bed beside of her and took her hand._

 _"I told you the very truth about Cinder and Salem. Emerald and Mercury... I know Ozpin knows. They are with the White Fang but you know that already. Things are getting more intense now and I'm being shut out and so is Neo."_

 _"I thought Neo was part of them."_

 _Roman leaned back against the headboard._

 _"She joined with them a long time before me. She's not a favorite among them. When I 'joined' they put her with me."_

 _"She doesn't like me."_

 _Roman cracked a smile, "Well personality wise now but she thinks you're pretty hot."_

 _Ruby stared._

 _"She's gay."_

 _"That makes me feel much better."_

 _Roman cracked a smile._

 _"I know you're scared."_

 _"I am. I don't want to lose you."_

 _Roman leaned on and kissed her._

 _"I'll be by your side as long as I can. We need to see Ozpin. I'll risk everything for you but we need your team on our side."_

" _You really want to talk to them yourself?"_

 _Roman snorted, "Hardly. I think I'm more afraid of your sister than anyone else. We should do it together."_

 _Ruby squeezed his hand, "Roman?"_

" _Yes Red?"_

" _Will you be with me no matter what?"_

 _Ruby stared at him with big doe eyes. He gave her an embarrassed smile._

" _Until I'm in the ground six feet under."_

 _They kissed again before Ruby got dressed._

Ruby groaned.

"What's wrong with you?"

She looked up to see Mercury staring at her.

"Thinking about the past."

"Which part of it?" Mercury asked with curiosity.

Ruby raised an eyebrow at him, "Why do you want to know for?"

"There's nothing to do and you looked like you're in some pain? Wanna talk about it?"

She made a weird face then smiled at him.

"I was thinking about the moment I told my sister and friends that I was Roman then tried to convince them that Salem was a real person."

Mercury looked shocked, "How did that go? I imagine not well."

"Oh yea… Not well… Fighting Grimm is easier."

"Tell me all about it. I would love to hear all about it."

She threw a tiny rock at him and looked up at the dirt ceiling,

" _I can't do this!" Ruby said biting her finger nails._

" _You already called for them to come over here. Everything will be fine."_

 _Roman was standing behind a wall with Ruby in the open for her team to see her._

" _Don't chew your nails."_

 _Ruby stopped to look at her criminal boyfriend who shot her a cheesy ass smile making her laugh. Her smile soon faded as footsteps came closer revealing her team coming around the corner. She stared at them as they gave her worried looks. She rubbed her face some._

" _You will be ok! Stay positive!"_

"Hold on…"

Ruby stared at Mercury wondering why he interrupted her story.

"How did you know Roman wasn't using you to gain some favor to sneak into Beacon or anything?"

"That could be true but I trusted him a lot and in fact I still do."

"That must be nice."

She tilted her head to the side, "I trust you."

"I think you're an idiot."

"Yea. If that's true you can go out on your own."

Mercury smirked.

"I think I do because if you cross me I'll kill you."

"Go on with your story."

 _"What's wrong Ruby?"_

 _She made a weird face._

 _"We have to talk."_

 _Yang stared at her sister. For some reason Ruby no longer looked like the fifteen year old girl they knew. She looked ten years older and burdened. Ruby ran her hand through her short hair and she looked visibly shaken._

 _"Ruby... You're scaring me."_

 _"There's some things you need to know. We'll have to go to Ozpin after I tell you. Something big is going to happen and we need to do something. Anything now."_

 _"What happened?"_

 _"There's an attack planned against Beacon. Very soon. The White Fang is supposed to release Grimm during the Vytal Festival."_

 _"What?" Blake asked like she didn't hear her right._

 _"The White Fang is coming to Beacon. We have to be ready."_

 _"Let's head to Ozpin right now!" Weiss said._

 _"How did you find all this out?" Yang asked looking unconvinced._

 _"I don't want to tell you."_

 _Roman stepped out from behind the building. Yang, Weiss and Blake gaped at him then at her completely speechless. No one reached for their weapons as he placed an arm on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. It seemed to Ruby they stood there forever._

 _"Is no one going to say anything?" Ruby asked softly._

 _"I'm so angry..." Yang said as her eyes started turning red, "I don't even know what to say right now."_

 _Blake said nothing as she hung her head knowing her partner was super pissed._

 _"I'm not really surprised," Weiss announced making everyone look at her funny._

 _"Really Ice Queen?"_

 _"How can you say that?! My sister is nothing like that!" Yang yelled._

 _"Because. Look at us," Weiss said holding out her hands, "Blake lived on the wild side with a psycho ex. I rebelled against my father by coming here and now Ruby has a criminal boyfriend. You're dangerous all by yourself, Yang. We run out into danger without anyone saying anything."_

 _Yang turned away._

 _"Yang, we have to go to Ozpin!" Ruby called but she waved her hand like she didn't want to hear it._

 _"Yang!"_

 _"Red... She already made up her mind."_

 _"Are you telling us the truth?" Blake whispered._

 _"I have no reason to lie. I was never with those people in the first place."_

 _Weiss sighed, "If you are... Telling the truth then we'll have to convince Yang but that'll be up to you."_

"Wow."

"Yea."

"I'm assuming they didn't listen then huh?"

"Yang didn't listen until the incident with Penny and Pyrrha."

Mercury nodded, "I am sorry."

"I don't think anything would've changed the outcome. That's why we are alive now."

"That might be true. No one will ever know."

Ruby smiled sadly, "We won't but wiry what we know now... We can do something. I believe in them."

"What's our purpose then?" he asked.

"I found enough Dust. I've been hauling around crystals for a while now. I never had to use one yet."

"As we get closer..."

Ruby grinned, "I have to repair Crescent Rose when we cross the ocean. I can't wait."

X

X

"What do you wanna talk about?" Neo asked.

"How about how hungry I am…" Yang murmured.

Neo smirked, "Well… When we see a deer. I'll be sure to kill it. Steak sounds great right now… Too bad we can't have rolls and potatoes."

Yang groaned making the shorter woman laugh.

"Baby, if I could I would serve you whatever you want and you could eat it off me."

Yang's face turned bright red and she kept her eyes on the ground.

"Calm down Yang."

"Why do you say stuff like that?!"

"Because I love your reaction."

The two women became quiet.

"I wonder how Ruby is doing?" Yang said out loud.

Neo giggled, "Why?"

"Because... She's my sister. I almost hate myself for being so mean..."

"Why were you mean?"

Yang sighed, "Because when I found out about her and Roman... I acted like she wasn't even there half of the time. I was so angry... Like how could she...?"

"He wasn't a bad guy."

"How would she know?!" the blonde yelled throwing her hands into the air.

"I knew. He didn't even need to tell me."

"I don't understand."

"I can read people. He never had a weird creepy or angry vibe like most people... Roman was always mellow. Whenever he had to do something like fight you guys or hurt someone, he was depressed. It made me angry because... He was the only one that liked me."

"You're telling me that she can read people?" Yang snapped.

"Some of us try hard to have others like us and it doesn't work. When someone finally gives us the chance we can read their intentions. Roman was never the bad guy. He was just that way for everyone else so they had someone to hate."

"Sure."

"Your sister is a nice person. When she knocked me off of the Atlas ship, she apologized and I gave her the finger."

It wasn't that funny but Yang started laughing.

"That sounds like her alright."

They walked another few miles when they came to a forest of broken trees. They gave each other a blank look. Neither one was sure whether they should go in or try walking around it.

 _Shhhhuuhhhhssshhh_

Neo recognized that sound quickly because some weird clicking sound came right after. Yang's eyes widened realizing what was coming but Neo reacted first. She grabbed Yang's hand, almost jerking her arm out of the socket. Neo hadn't changed any in physical strength. She pulled Yang around like she was nothing.

"I hate Seers!" Neo hissed, "I hope it didn't see us!"

They couldn't hear anything but birds for a while but it was unsure if there was other Grimm in the wooded area.

"I hate Seers!" Neo hissed, "I hope it didn't see us!"

They couldn't hear anything but birds for a while but it was unsure if there was other Grimm in the wooded area.

"How long are we going to keep running?!" Yang hissed.

"As long as it takes! Unless you see a fucking fruit tree, we are going to keep running!"


	7. Oceanside

"Fuck all of this…" Neo said laying in the sand.

"I agree… I'm so tired that if a Grimm showed up now I would probably die. I wouldn't even fight back."

Neo snorted and laughed weakly.

"I'm so tired Yang… Can I cuddle with you…?"

"Sure…"

"Can you come closer? I hurt all over."

Yang smiled as she wiggled her body closer to Neo. She turned over on her side and pulled Neo closer to her body. Her hair laid on Neo's face but the short woman paid no mind. Their breathing slowed down and all the muscles in their bodies were sore from non-stop running.

The two of them fell asleep in the warm sand as the sunlight disappeared from the sky.

X

Neo jerked awake. She blew away Yang's hair to see that it was night. She was warm but Yang was shivering in her sleep. She bit her lip and wiggled against the busty blonde's body. Yang groaned some and squeezed Neo tighter almost suffocating her with her large breasts.

"Y-yang! You're killing me! I wouldn't normally complain but we need to wake up!" Neo coughed out while trying to breathe.

"I'm so tired…" Yang whispered snuggling against the small woman.

"Please! Wake up before something gets to us…"

Yang's purple eyes opened a little bit and she smiled tiredly at Neo.

"I'm glad you're here with me…"

Neo's eyes widened in surprise and her heart started to pound… for the first that wasn't because she was fighting for her life.

"I guess I can let you sleep…" Neo whispered brushing Yang's blonde hair off her face to find out she fell asleep again.

Neo stripped off her large green shirt and laid it on the blonde huntress as a blanket. She headed for the water with her torn parasol. She dove into the water head first swimming around waiting for something to come close enough. She was hungry and she felt weird.

She needed time to think to herself.

X

X

"Well... We made it."

Mercury and Ruby stared down the muddy hill that turned to wet sand half way down.

"Only because you forced me to walk all damn night into the morning," Mercury muttered.

Ruby gave him a smile.

"Now we can rest for a day or so. I wanna swim some before I crash out for the day."

"Rest?"

"Yes. You know what rest means don't you?"

Mercury's eyes narrowed as he made his way down the hill.

"What is up with that look?" Ruby asked giving him an awkward smile.

"I thought the whole deal was that we get there as soon as possible?"

"OK... How do you plan on crossing the ocean?"

Mercury made a face then shut his mouth.

"We will be here for about a week. I'm not even lying... There's things we have to prepare for."

Ruby stripped off her pants and undies then started taking off her shirt.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I wanna swim."

"Naked?"

"I don't want to ruin my clothes more than they are. You can go in naked too if you want. No one is judging."

He couldn't believe it. After she pulled off her shirt and bra, there was so much defined muscle on her. It was a wonder how she managed to not be a skinny stick throughout the whole devastation of Remnant. Ruby glanced back to see he was staring at her.

"Is this your first time seeing a woman naked?"

"No! How did you get so ripped?"

Ruby gave a sheepish smile and continued on her way to the water. He had begun to think about it but he always saw she was eating something about every two hours whether it was raw potatoes or fruit from a tree. He never really questioned her about it but it must've been the only way she stayed healthy this whole time.

Mercury couldn't understand too much since he barely ate the whole time he was out there until he crossed paths with Ruby.

 _Now that I think about it… I haven't seen any Grimm since I was with her… I wonder if something happened… Did she make a deal with Salem or something? To think about it… Salem could show up wherever she wants…._

 _I wonder…. What's the deal is…_

X

X

"Wow! You caught so much fish!" Yang said staring at all of it.

"It wasn't too hard. Do you feel better?" Neo asked with her cheeks flushing slightly.

"I do actually. I was so exhausted… I haven't slept that much since I came from underground."

"You stayed underground?"

Yang nodded. She stuck a sharpened stick through a fish helping her companion out by preparing it for cooking.

"Why? Wouldn't that be boring?" Neo asked.

"Boring and safe. I had my friends and my sister. That's all that really mattered honestly."

"I guess that's true."

They sat in silence for a while.

"I have to ask you something," Neo said.

"Ok, go ahead."

"Why did you say: "I'm glad you're here with me.""

Yang's face turned bright red.

"I meant it but I was so tired and I had been thinking it the whole time even though you have been annoying the shit out of me."

Neo laughed.

"That makes me happy to hear that."

X

X

"I haven't seen any Grimm in a few days…"

Adam nodded in agreement as they continued with their journey.

"You have any clue how this area is?" he asked.

"I haven't crossed in almost two years. I wish I could say but we may end up building another raft and hoping that no aquatic Grimm come to pay a visit."

"Well with the way things have been lately… I don't think we have too much to worry about."

"I suppose."

"I was hoping there more people… you know, alive. Unless a lot of them are underground and only surface for food. It is possible because I know Ruby and them were headed for underground before I left. I wouldn't really blame anyone…"

Blake took in a deep breath.

"Can you smell the ocean?" he asked taking her hand.

"Yes."

"Since we've been getting closer to Salem, you seem more quiet than normal. What are you thinking about?"

"Yang."

Adam scratched his head.

"I knew that eventually would come up at some point."

"I don't know how anyone will react to you being there with me. Honestly, I don't even know what to say to them either. I'm still confused on how I feel about everything. In the back of my mind, you hurt my teammate but… you have changed a lot since that all happened."

"Let's sit down and talk about this. I feel like it needs to be talked about."

Blake turned, facing him.

"Adam."

She placed a hand on his chest and stared into those red eyes.

"Just say it."

"Everything that happens between us is up to Yang. If she can't forgive you then there isn't much I can do with you anymore."

He made a face, "So, basically you are tossing me out after Salem is dead in the ground?"

"No."

A confused expression overcame his face.

"Maybe at first she wouldn't be ok but maybe after time she would be ok with it. I just need you to be ok and chill after we meet up with them again. I know things won't be easy but in the end of everything… we all need each other."

Adam chuckled, "You were always the voice of reason."

He leaned in and kissed her.

"Lead the way my queen."


	8. Fall of Beacon

" _Convincing her is not going well," Roman said as he leaned forward with blood pouring out of his nose._

" _She hit you so hard… I thought she broken your nose and face too," Ruby said handing her boyfriend a tissue._

" _I'm lucky it wasn't broken too much. I managed to shift it back in place but it still hurts like a mother fucker."_

 _Ruby and Roman sat in silence for a while. She managed to not cry when Yang slugged her boyfriend._

" _I'm sorry things aren't going well."_

 _Ruby smiled at him and handed him another tissue as she took the bloody ones away. She tossed them into the trash can as he cleaned up his nose some more._

" _I love you Roman."_

 _He grinned at her, "Thanks Red. I love you too."_

" _If you want… we can directly go to Ozpin. No one else wants to listen… I figure why not go to the source of everything? He might know more than us and he might be more willing to listen."_

" _It's up to you now. At least Weiss is ok with everything."_

 _Ruby laughed, "Yea… she flips through the pages of her magazines asking me how things are without looking at me but that's her."_

" _Hm… you think you can bring her with us?"_

 _Ruby shrugged._

" _I don't know if she would be up for that."_

" _What about Blake?"_

" _She seems… conflicted. She has a picture in her hand and stares at me with this weird look. I don't know what's going on with her."_

" _You all… you act like a bunch of women."_

 _She grinned at Roman._

" _That means a lot hearing it come from the guy with a busted nose."_

" _So mean Red! I'm wounded and you're going to kick me like that… that hurts."_

" _I learned from you."_

 _Roman got up and held out a hand to her._

" _Let's go."_

" _Go wipe your face off first! You have dried up blood on your nose."_

 _The dorm door creaked open and Blake walked in with Yang._

" _Is it still here?" Yang hissed._

 _"Roman is still here."_

 _"Ugh."_

 _"It's OK Yang. He fixed his nose."_

 _"Next time I'll hit harder," she muttered._

 _Ruby smiled hearing what her sister had said. She didn't think she'd be OK with it but she had to try anyways._

 _"Are you guys going to talk to Ozpin?" Blake asked._

 _Ruby nodded._

 _"Hopefully he's smart enough not to listen to a bunch of bullshit."_

 _" What will you say if he doesn't and this school goes down in flames?" Roman asked leaning against the bathroom doorway, "I'm not trying to be an asshole either. I have as much to lose as you four. You don't understand that."_

 _"So this is all for yourself?"_

 _"Not all of it. I am a selfish ass but I don't want Ruby hurt either. What hurts her hurts me too."_

 _Yang rolled her eyes as they started turning red._

 _"It's how I feel."_

 _"Really?" the angry blonde snapped._

 _Yang jumped into his face._

 _"What if someone tries to kill me? You gonna jump in front of me?!" she snarled._

 _"Damn right I will."_

 _Yang looked mildly surprised but backed off. She looked at Ruby._

 _"Do what you want... Just make sure it doesn't infer with Beacon. I won't rescue you if it goes bad in the end."_

 _"You won't have too because I'll be there to catch her," Roman said._

 _Yang pushed him out of the way and slammed the bathroom door so hard, it shook the house room and the next one over._

 _"Are you ready?" Roman asked taking Ruby's hand._

 _Blake stood there and sighed, "I don't know if it's true but if Ruby really believes it I'll back you up. I don't think she's wrong in trusting you."_

 _Roman held out a hand, "Thanks Kitty Cat."_

 _Blake shook her head but a small smile appeared across her lips._

 _X_

 _X_

 _The three of them stayed silent as they rode the elevator up to Ozpin's office. Roman luckily was dressed down almost looking like a student. The doors opened wide to reveal the headmaster sitting at his desk. His eyes locked with Roman's first. A weird look overcame his face._

 _"Can I help you Miss Rose? Miss Belladonna?"_

 _Ruby took a deep breath, "We need to talk. It's important."_

 _"You captured Mr. Torchwick?"_

 _Roman snorted and stepped forward._

 _"Actually I have some important information."_

 _Ozpin's eyes locked with Ruby's next._

 _"More than the fact you are risking the safety of fellow student?"_

 _"It's life or death now," Ruby said feeling courage well up inside, "He isn't what you think he is."_

 _"Is that true?" Ozpin asked staring at the cat Faunus next._

 _"Yes. I do believe it. I have no reason to doubt Ruby."_

 _"Are you sleeping with him?" he asked looking at Ruby._

 _Roman's face heated up._

 _"I am. That's not the reason why we are here though."_

 _Ozpin looked amused._

 _"Tell me what you know."_

 _"The White Fang is coming here. They're after something in Beacon. I didn't quite get what it was but it seems some of the actual bad guys are posing as Haven students."_

 _Ruby and Blake looked at each other._

 _ **He never told me that.**_

 _"How many of them are there?"_

 _"Four. One doesn't stay here. She always looks different though."_

 _Ruby couldn't believe he was selling out Neo._

 _"Names?" Ozpin asked._

 _"Cinder, Mercury and Emerald. I'm unsure of last names."_

 _"How come you never told me that?" Ruby asked looking hurt._

 _"Red, I know how you are... You would go hunt them down and get hurt."_

 _Blake smirked, "He's right you know... We would all go after them."_

 _"Do you have anything to support this claim?" Ozpin asked._

 _"Just my words and what I've seen."_

 _Ozpin leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. To Ruby it didn't look like he was deciding whether or not to believe them... It was like he was thinking about other things..._

 _"I'll have those students checked out but I don't think that's going to give us information. I don't know what to think right now."_

 _X_

 _X_

 _It had been a few weeks already and Ozpin never got back with her. Yang was already doing her one on one with Mercury at the Vytal Festival. Ruby could see Ozpin in the crowd. For some reason she felt angry that he didn't trust her._

 _Roman had given her a special device that would alarm him if everything went to hell so he knew when to go for her. Little did he know... He was going to run into her..._

 _Soon... Everything fell starting falling apart._

 _Yang somehow broke Mercury's leg but she had claimed that he attacked led her first._

 _Ruby stayed quiet about Roman being right. Yang was depressed and angry. She no longer focused on Ruby and Roman's relationship. Ruby did the best she could to make Yang feel better but she felt something was wrong in her gut._

 _Something... Was very wrong._

 _Ruby was on her way to see Penny battle against Pyrrha when Mercury stepped out of the shadows. She swallowed hard and clicked the small device setting it off._

 _X_

 _X_

 _"You... You want me to hijack an Atlas ship?"_

 _Cinder nodded._

 _"Neo is going with you."_

 _Neo rolled her eyes, "I don't want too."_

 _Cinder slammed her fist into the table._

 _"No one cares what you want Neo! You can kill people after everything is over with."_

 _The short woman rolled her eyes._

 _"Go now."_

 _X_

 _X_

 _Just like Roman had said... Everything fell apart starting with Penny's demise. Weiss, Blake and Yang all had the same thought once Grimm were released into Beacon and Vale._

 _ **Roman was right.**_

 _Ruby said on the airship that Roman had jacked. Neo came out first with a murderous grin on her face. Roman had told her that Neo would kill anyone and to fight her to kill. Ruby's heart was pounding hard in her chest._

 _"Are you ready little girl?!" Neo screamed._

 _"Bring it on!" Ruby said with a cocky grin._

 _Neo charged in at her quickly kicking the oversized scythe out of her hands. Ruby felt her heart sink as her courage disappeared quickly. Neo was fast and moved almost like a ballerina. She was so quick it looked like her feet never touched the ship deck._

 _Neo kicked her sending her flying half way through the deck. Roman came running out seeing Neo growing closer to his girlfriend._

 _"Neo!"_

 _The woman turned around._

 _"What?"_

 _"Don't kill her! Please whatever you do- don't! If you wanna kill someone, come kill her but leave her alone!"_

 _Ruby sat back up but her back hurt when she moved. Neo rolled her eyes and began moving towards Ruby again._

 _"I love her! Don't!"_

 _She stopped when she had a foot away from the silver eyes girl._

 _"Love her huh? What happened to you?"_

 _"I was never with you idiots! I did all of it to save my city!"_

 _Neo gave him a sad smile, "I know. I knew the whole time but... This is my job. I want to live."_

 _"Neo-_

 _Neo jabbed the tiny blade at Ruby, aiming for her heart but Ruby moved and took the hit in the shoulder._

 _"Neo!"_

 _Roman charged in. Ruby grabbed the parasol and jerked Neo off her feet. The blade went in further but she ignored it. Neo landed know her side and Ruby stood up. She pulled the parasol out and threw it to the side._

 _"Are you OK!?" he asked pulling Ruby in for a hug._

 _"I'm fine."_

 _Neo got up and headed for her bloody parasol._

 _"You're a dumbass."_

 _She picked it up and glared at them. In reality, she could kill them both. Ruby was merely a novice and Roman wasn't much of fighter and all he did was talk crap. She stomped her feet as she headed for her ex Co worker. Just as she swung her weapon, Ruby jumped in front and Neo sliced open her dress from shoulder to her right side._

 _Ruby kicked out at her, knocking her onto the ship deck. Roman watched in shock as his girlfriend ran for her scythe and pulled it out of the metal deck. Neo charged in again with murderous intent in her eyes. Ruby was ready for it this time._

 _X_

 _"Weiss!"_

 _Blake helped her friend back to her feet._

 _"What's wrong?"_

 _Weiss looked conflicted._

 _"Why didn't we listen?"_

 _"We... I know... We did try. I went with Ruby and Roman but we can't focus on that now. Let's try and fix what we can!"_

 _Weiss wiped away her tears then gave Blake a nod._

 _"I'll head for the school for Yang. Go find Ruby!"_

 _They headed their separate ways both wishing it wasn't too late to fix everything._

 _X_

 _"I'm sorry!" Ruby screamed trying to grab Neo's hand as she flew off with her open parasol._

 _"Neo!" Roman yelled._

 _She was gone._

 _ **BOOM!**_

 _Several Griffon Grimm landed on the ship and one of them crashed into the engine._

 _"Do you trust me?" Ruby yelled._

 _"Yes."_

 _"Hang on."_

 _Ruby grabbed his hand and they took off running together. They jumped off together. Roman was freaking out thinking they were going to crash into the ground._

 _"Roman! Grab my waist!"_

 _"You're nuts!"_

 _"I know!"_

 _He did as she said. He hung onto her small body as she flipped her scythe under the feet and started firing rounds at the ground. The bursts slowed them down enough until they landed on a building and the Atlas ship crashed about a mile away._

 _X_

 _X_

"You OK?"

Ruby opened her eyes.

"Yea."

Mercury gave her a concerned look. They had built a small hut with palm trees, leaves and whatever else they could find. Ruby had slept most of that day and she was probably going to go fishing again.

"You've been more tired lately. Are you sick?"

Ruby shook her head.

"Dealing with the emotional baggage before I can't."

He made a face and nodded. He heard her whispering in her sleep a lot. Something about Yang and Neo. His mind fluttered back to the short, creepy woman.

"I better get up."

"You wanna talk about it?"

Ruby shook her head before she walked out of the small hut.

X

X

"Are you ok? You've been quiet for a few days now."

Roman flipped through Weiss' research book.

"I don't have much to say."

"I find that hard to believe coming from the guy that likes talking about himself."

Roman smirked but offered no retort.

"Everything is almost over with. Just wait a little while longer."

Roman sat down the book and looked her in the eye.

"Weiss, even if we beat her... What is there for me to do? I can't give Ruby a great wedding, a house and a fenced in yard. Even if we decided to have kids... Where would she have them? There's nothing here. It's a wonder if she hasn't lost her mind yet out there alone."

Weiss flopped down in a chair and stared at the wall.

He... wasn't wrong.

 _ **Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! ShugoYuuki123**_

 _ **Thanks lol I tried to make it believable. Even though I don't put any emphasis on it, they all struggle with getting over the things that happened before Beacon fell. I guess in this situation they had no choice but to get over it Rosewick267**_


	9. Maker

Roman flicked a rock off the table and just looked around. Weiss stayed in the other room. He accidentally made her depressed a few days and she had been staying to herself. Oobleck hadn't come around since the night they went out looking for supplies.

He really didn't mean to upset her but what could he do about it? Roman had only spoke the truth. He walked around and grabbed one of the musty notebooks Weiss had sitting on a chair in the corner. He sat at the table and started doodling out Ruby's weapon.

He remembered the first he met her. He didn't think much of her then only because Cinder was with him. He didn't have much time to think. The only thing that stuck with him that first meeting was she was strong enough to lift that massive thing.

Ruby had handed it to him once and he nearly dropped it on his foot. It was no joke hoe heavy it was. Ruby had explained that the heavier it was the more damage she could deal wielding it. She got lucky her semblance was speed so it made up in that area the weapon would make her slower.

He missed her dearly.

Every moment he had free he was thinking of her. Roman had no idea what started that kiss in the alley but it was worth it. Hopefully Ruby had kept what little sanity she had left and she was still the same person as before. Weiss and him managed to be pretty normal but they weren't out in the wilderness fighting for their lives.

Part of him hoped Neo was still alive. She might've been a little murdering psycho but at least she was a friend.

Roman sighed. He wasn't being very nice to the one friend he considered his sister. He got up from his chair and headed for her room. Weiss didn't move as he walked in.

She was just lying there staring at the ceiling.

"Hey."

She waved an arm tiredly acknowledging he came into the room greeting her.

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

Roman sat down on the end of her bed.

"I do. I should've never said stuff like that."

"It was the truth. It had to be said."

"Wanna work on Dust Crystals?"

"No."

"Can you hang out with me? I miss you talking..."

Weiss turned her head to the side.

"Wow... You really do feel bad don't you?"

Roman chuckled and nodded.

"Talk about anything. I won't mind."

Weiss sat up and leaned back against the mud wall.

"Why Ruby?" she asked.

"Why did I want to be with her?"

Weiss nodded.

"She's fierce."

Weiss' excited face fell into a 'I don't believe that bullshit look'.

"It's true! She took down several men without issue... It's like... She was built for fighting. She's fun and loving but... She's powerful."

"You honestly believe that?"

"I believe it the first time I met her. Fierce."

"I thought she was an annoying brat who didn't deserve to be there."

Roman smiled.

"I can see why you would think that."

Weiss gave him a sad half smile.

"She proved everyone wrong in the end. She truly is someone else."

"Really?"

Weiss nodded.

"The one who laughs and jokes around is not the same person who wields that ridiculous weapon. Ruby is so... Complex."

"You admire her?"

"Very much so. I'd aspire to even be half of what she is."

"Me too."

They sat in silence.

"I think you're fine as you though."

"Really?" she asked looking unconvinced.

"I do. You may not have the same reckless killer in you like Ruby but you're a calculated killer. You think and have precision."

"Thanks."

"What do you think she's doing right now?" he asked looking thoughtful.

"I don't know. Probably eating."

They both started laughing.

X

X

Mercury sat on the water's edge in what was left of his boxers. Ruby was gone again and this time he watched her go to the snowy mountain again. At first he was quite surprised to see her go there but he thought maybe it was because she went to go think by herself. Then she went again.

He didn't let her know he knew. The ocean waves hit the beach slowly leaving behind foam and seaweed. It might have been cliché but he thought the ocean was calming. Part of Mercury didn't want to leave this area but he did promise to go with her when she needed.

 _I wonder if Emerald is ok. She might've been annoying but she was too innocent for her own good. Then again, she is probably better where she should be. Maybe when Ruby comes back I'll ask her to spare her. I hope she is ok. I don't care much for anyone else._

It was a few hours before Ruby returned. There were dark circles under her eyes. Mercury had fallen asleep on the beach. She smiled and picked him up. He was lucky nothing came out of the water and attacked him. Maybe it was her fault... They were getting to comfortable being there.

She laid him in the hut then went back to the water's edge. The wind had started to pick up some blowing her hair out of her face. Ruby could see the peaks of mountains in the distance. She couldn't wait to cross the ocean.

They were getting closer. One step closer to all of this being over with.

 _I can't wait. There isn't really a home to return too but... as long as my friends are there I'll be ok. Once this this all over with... I think I can sleep for days without being bothered._

X

X

"I can't believe I had to eat raw fish."

Blake gave him a goofy grin.

"I love fish."

"You're a cat."

"I can't help that," she said with a smile.

They were floating on the water for a few hours now. Adam had forgotten they were going to be on the water for a few days unless a storm came along. The managed to carve out ores to help move things along. They were getting closer to the land Salem would be in. There were small islands in between but they weren't willing to try and stop.

As weird as it seemed, Blake had warned Adam there might be people left over who... might eat other people. At first he couldn't fathom why someone would do something so disgusting but it was pretty much the end of the world... Could they blame them?

"I don't like this though."

Blake smiled, "It's nice and the water is pretty."

"It's hot as hell."

"Jump in the water and pushed the raft. You'll be cooled off."

He gave her an annoyed look and then stripped of his shirt.

"Just to put your shirt back on in a little while. We don't have any aloe for a sunburn. Do you want to fight with a peeling sunburn?"

"I guess not."

They started rowing some as some low waves hit the side of the raft.

"I don't want to fight Salem."

Adam looked surprised.

"What?" he said.

"I don't want to fight her. I just wish things would be much more simple than this."

Adam's face softened up.

"I want too though. After we beat her things can start going to normal and everything will be ok. Not as ok as before but ok. We can fight Grimm and start fixing the world."

Blake scratched her head, "What happened to you."

"You happened to me."

Blake stayed silent.

"Like I said... I wasn't the best person a long time ago but I want to fix things now. I want you to be with me and all you ever wanted was for me to be a better person."

Blake smiled.

"Thanks."

"Thanks for what?"

"You keep reminding me the reason I keep going and it isn't a total loss. We've lost a lot of people but I'm glad you're here."

Adam leaned over and kissed her.

"I'm glad to be here as long as you're here too."

X

X

The next night, Mercury decided to follow Ruby up into the snowy mountains. He was really curious to know what she was doing. He remembered her being so bubbly and happy. She seemed so outward with her feelings. Now, she was hiding. She was being so secretive.

Mercury didn't miss the cold weather but Ruby seemed to get through it without any problems. He watched behind a few rocks and watched as she started digging through the snow. He could see a bright blue light but he couldn't see what was shining so brightly.

After a few minutes and a few times of her trying to rewarm her hands to keep digging, she pulled out the biggest Dust crystal he had ever seen in his life. She wrapped it up in her tattered cloak. She struggled to stand up but she managed to anyways. Something seemed so weird about her eyes.

"I know you're watching."

Mercury's body stiffened up.

"I figured you would get curious after some point."

He popped up to see her smiling.

"You're not mad?"

"No. You can help me carry this down to the ocean."

"How... how did you find this?" Mercury asked in amazement.

"At one point in class we learned about those called 'Makers.' They had the ability to create Dust crystals using the elements around them. It's not something easily done. It took me two years to do this. Weiss had started off teaching me because she loves ice. We started off with fire then ground."

Mercury sat down in the snow and looked up at the silver eyed huntress.

"I think Salem has a lot to worry about... I think I sided with the wrong people from the beginning."

Ruby grinned, "People take time to grow. Sometimes you have to wait to make an informed decision. I don't blame you though. We do things when we feel things look bleak."

"True."

"Let's get to the ocean."

"Why the ocean?" he asked.

"This will turn the ocean into a giant walk way for the most part. It won't harm any of the animals living in the water."

Mercury laughed.

"I'm ready whenever you are then."


	10. Icy Way

Ruby and Mercury threw the giant Dust crystal as far they could. They got out of the water and Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose.

"Are you ready?" she asked raising her weapon.

"Ready whenever you are."

"3...2...1..."

BANG

The shot rang out and hit the Dust crystal. Mercury pulled Ruby to the ground as it started to shake violently like an earthquake. Ruby looked behind them to see snow starting to fall off the nearby mountains.

"We gotta go!" Ruby yelled.

She got up and pulled Mercury to his few feet. Just like Ruby had said, the ocean turned to ice. They jumped on it and slid around some. The snow that had fallen hit the trees and destroyed their hut.

"Are we gonna ice skate there?" Mercury asked with an annoyed look on his face as he slid around aimlessly.

"Pretty much."

"Ugh."

"Sit down and I'll push you!"

"You're kidding."

"No."

Mercury sighed then smiled, "We'll take turns. Once my ass is frozen enough we'll switch."

Ruby laughed.

"Of course."

Ruby started pushing him along like she skating and she started humming.

X

X

"I can't believe we're here."

Neo and Yang stood there at the water's edge. They were finally in the region where the Void was. The shorter woman dropped to her knees. It was an odd feeling knowing she had been there several times and then ran from it.

Now she was back.

"You OK?" Yang asked crouching down.

"I hope you make it worth it for me to fight by your side."

Yang could hear the threat in her tone.

"What if we don't win?" the blonde asked.

"We'll be dead. I don't want to die with regrets."

Yang sat down in the sand and took Neo's hand.

"Look at me."

Neo didn't look like she was fearful of the situation just slightly worried.

"I can make it worth it for you if you want. If I do you can't die," Yang whispered.

"Really? That's a hard task to complete."

Yang smiled and jerked Neo's arm. The smaller woman fell forward and Yang's lips met hers. Her eyes turned bright pink just like her face. Yang giggled at her reaction.

"I'll try as hard as I-I can."

"I know Weiss is supposed to be in this area somewhere so if she sees us she'll probably jump out."

"Thanks for the warning."

"Anytime."

They walked for a while before Neo got the courage to take Yang's hand. Even though it was her metal hand, Yang could feel the warm heat from Neo's skin. The two walked like that for a while until they decided to take a break.

X

X

"That's odd."

Adam felt it too.

Blake pulled her makeshift ore out and put her hand in the water. It had dropped way down in temperature. Adam squinted see small chunks of ice floating in the distance. Blake scratched her head as she stared down into the water.

"Blake... There's ice floating."

"Huh?"

Adam pointed and she could see it but it was barely noticeable. They looked at each other unsure if it was a Grimm or a person or Salem. In Blake's mind, there were no people left in the world. Her mind then flipped to Weiss.

They haven't seen each other in 2 years almost...

 _She could've gotten that strong. Maybe Ruby? She did freeze that horrific Grimm on Beacon. We are already to close to land to go find where that ice is coming from._

"Hopefully it's your friends. That gives me hope. What about you?"

Blake turned and smiled at Adam.

"I feel the same way. Should we paddle to shore or swim?"

"Paddle. It's too cold now."

Blake laughed. They were half a mile away from shore and it seemed like it was taking forever. It seemed like the waves were getting bigger by the minute. The couple was starting to get frustrated.

"I think we need to swim."

Adam groaned.

"I know. I'm sorry. We're gonna be out forever if we don't try something else."

"I guess that's true."

They gathered up their stuff and stretched a little bit before jumping in. Swimming the took less time but more effort since they were swimming against the waves. The waves were more chaotic and all over the place. In the back of Adam's mind he was worried about some sea dragon Grimm trying to eat them.

They walked up too the shore and dropped to their knees.

"Fuck man... My legs feel like a thousand pounds."

"You'd think with all the walking we've done that wouldn't have been so exhausting," Blake said.

"Let's take off all of clothes and dry them. The sand feels pretty warm."

They stripped everything off and hung it on the broken fences and trees around. It took little under an hour to dry everything and they were ready to go again. They watched as their raft floated over into the jagged rocks and got lodged in between. It didn't matter, it was the end of their journey pretty much.

"Adam."

"Hm?"

"I feel sick?"

Adam's head snapped to the side.

"What?!"

"I feel nervous and I almost want to vomit..."

Adam's expression calmed down from the panic it had and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You scared me."

Blake laughed once she got why he said that.

"No, no! It's just... I think my nerves are getting to me."

The two Faunus walked in silence for a long time. The area surrounding them was oddly thriving with plant and animal life which made it more suspicious. It made them wonder if Grimm were guarding the area from human intruders. They stayed quiet just in case anything tried creeping up on them.

X

X

"This is so much fun!" Ruby cried out excitedly as she slid a feet down the icy pathway.

Mercury had been pushing her for the last thirty minutes.

"I'm so tired..."

"Can you sit down? You said your ass was frozen."

He grinned and plopped down close to her as he could. He slid around a few inches before he managed to stop himself.

"I'm enjoying myself more than I thought I would."

Ruby smiled.

"That's saying a lot out here."

Mercury laid back and Ruby laid down beside of him. It was the nicest part of her journey since she had been out in the wastelands. Some ocean water lapped against the icy walkway making it away some. It was so relaxing.

"You're welcome to go wherever you want now."

Mercury turned his head to the side to look at her.

"What you mean?"

"You already showed me the way. You're more than welcome to go wherever you want from here. You fulfilled your promise already."

"You want me to just leave like that?"

Ruby shrugged, "I don't know. I feel like you did what you needed to do and I wouldn't want to force you into a battle that may not go our way."

Mercury stayed quiet instead of answering her.

"I take it you aren't sure how you feel about all of it."

"Well... I would like to help but it's Emerald. I don't really want to fight her."

"I can understand that. Is she your best friend?"

"No not really. She's annoying as hell."

Ruby snickered and Mercury chuckled a little.

"We can try and persuade her as much as we can. Whenever we see everyone else we can tell them not to kill her. What makes you think she won't fight us?" Ruby asked.

"She loves Cinder but not her ideas... She follows her because she was the first friend she had in her life."

"That's really sad. It makes a lot of sense now."

"Yea."

Ruby sat up and noticed the sun was disappearing.

"I think we need to go..."

"Hm?"

Mercury looked around.

"It looks like the ice is starting to break off in chunks."

"I never even noticed that. You feel like walking through the night?" Ruby asked.

"Not much choice right?"

X

X

"It looks like there used to be a city here," Neo said, "I was hoping it would've been up still considering it was so close to her."

"You didn't know it was here?"

"No I came a different way. I had no idea there was one."

Yang scanned the area, "It doesn't look like it was sitting torn down for a while. It looked like it was recent."

Neo shivered.

"Are you cold?"

"No. I'm scared. I want to know what happened to this city. I wonder if they tried revolting and she had them destroyed."

"Oh."

Yang took her hand like she was trying to reassure her.

"Things are going to be fine. Let's keep moving forward. Weiss should be around here at some point. I know she was headed straight here."

Neo looked skeptical but nodded anyways. They searched through a few destroyed building finding somewhat clean clothes. They tossed aside their old rags and packed an extra set just in case. They found a few unopened bottle of water and a few dented cans of food.

"Corn and spaghetti in a can... That's a meal," Neo said with an excited grin.

They ate the stuff cold but it was the best thing they had eaten in forever. They laid in the nearby grass after their meal and eat he's the clouds go by until the sun dropped in the sky. There was some stars out now and the air was a lot cooler.

"Neo?"

"Hm?"

"If you want, take a nap."

"Let's go into that building over there then. We can hide in there and sleep!"

Yang shrugged, "We can give it a try."

They settled in without too many problems. They decided to hide in a closet. They threw a few ragged blankets they found on the floor and cuddled up together. They were out within minutes into a deep sleep.

"Yang!"

"Shhhh, Neo."

"Yang!"

Yang growled lowly.

"Don't you dare growl at me you dolt!"

Yang's eyes flew open and she turned around. She looked up and her violet eyes were wide as saucers.

X

X

"Ruby?"

"I feel it."

The pathway wasn't flowing with the ocean's waves. It felt like something was hitting it downward. It was hard to see since it was night and anything could be out there. Suddenly, the pathway started to crack and it jumped upward flinging Ruby into the water.

"Ahhhh!"

"Ruby!"

She was gone under the water.

"RUBY!"

The water looked black making it impossible to see anything.

 _Grrrrrrrrr_

Mercury turned around to see a giant sea serpent Grimm staring him down and baring it's teeth.

 _Fuck me..._


	11. Early

"Weiss!"

Neo woke up and fell into the pile of clothes as Yang scrambled to get up. Yang grabbed Weiss so tight she cracked the petite girl's back.

"Y-yang! You're going to crush me!"

Yang let go.

"Oh! Shit, I'm sorry Neo!" Yang cried helping her out of the closet.

Neo looked up at Yang then over at Weiss.

"I'm Neo."

"Hello Neo! I'm so happy to see there's more people alive and ok!" Weiss cried as she hugged the smaller woman.

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Well, I do remember you and if you were a real problem then Yang would've fought you until the death."

Yang laughed uneasily as Neo looked back at her.

"Yea, that's true. She's the type to do something stupid like that," Neo said grinning evilly.

Yang smacked her on the back of her head, "Hey!"

Neo snickered.

"Weiss! Are you ok?! Weiss!"

Neo's eyes widened as she stared at the heiress.

"Is that...?"

Roman came into the torn down house. He stopped in his tracks to see his ex partner standing there with Yang. First the thing he felt was relief. He started walking towards her with tears in his green eyes unable to believe she was still alive after everything. Neo ran to him and jumped into his arms knocking him onto the ground.

Yang and Weiss stared at them with smiles on their faces. It didn't matter what part any of them had played before this apocalypse but what part they played now. Criminals no longer existed with Salem alive. She was the only villain now.

Neo sobbed into Roman's shoulder. He wasn't crying like she was but it he had tears streaming down his face. Maybe a few years ago this wouldn't have as sweet as it was but it meant everything now. After a few minutes Neo managed to pull herself together. She looked up at him and grabbed his face with both hands.

"I'm so sorry! You were right to leave! I'm not mad anymore!"

"Damn Neo... No one is mad at you anymore. I'm just glad you're ok after all this time... I'm sorry for abandoning you."

She shook her head.

"No... You were everything you were supposed to be. I'm here all the way now. I'm on your side now. If you want... thank Yang. She saved me."

Roman looked around at Yang who was blushing. It was hard to see since it was so dark but it was noticeable.

"You saved her?"

Yang nodded.

Roman got up and placed Neo onto her own feet. He embraced his sister in law tightly. Tears started to well up in her eyes too. She hadn't expected him to hug her like that. She hugged him back tightly.

"Roman."

He pulled away, "Sorry about that."

"No, no... I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked rather confused.

"For being a big bitch. I should've believed you a long time ago but..."

Roman raised a hand, "It's ok. What matters now... we are here together to fight her and fix everything."

"You honestly think... we can win?" Yang asked.

Roman nodded, "Yes I do."

Weiss grinned widely, "We've been busy since we split off all that time ago."

"Doing what?" Neo asked holding onto Yang's hand.

"Let me show you."

X

X

Mercury grabbed onto Ruby's outrageously heavy weapon and tried picking it up. He screamed in frustration as he managed to lift it high enough to shoot a few rounds into the Grimm's face. It let out a horrible screech and he let go of it. It hit the ice and he jumped into the freezing water to get Ruby.

As he swam down, he saw her body laying on a piece of ice. He looked around as he swam closer to her seeing all the ice in the ocean. Ruby's lifeless body was giving off a red glow... _Her aura must be trying to keep her alive but it looks like it's dying out. I don't think I can pick up her weapon again. My arms hurt just holding it up._

Mercury grabbed her arms and tried pulling. She seemed like dead weight. _What the fuck am I going to do? I can't hold my breath forever!_ Mercury gave one last pull and he managed to pry her off the ice. He let go of one of her hands and started swimming to the surface. Just before he came out of the water he could feel the vibrations from the ice path as the Grimm screamed.

Mercury came back up and gasped for air. He got Ruby onto the ice. He had no idea how he managed to get back by her weapon but he did. The Grimm finally started to calm down after clawing at it's own face to look at Mercury. It's large red eyes were eerie looking in the night.

The sea serpent dove into the water. Mercury groaned angrily as he tried to bring Ruby back to consciousness. He started pushing on her chest to get her breathing again but he wasn't getting any where. The Grimm had started hitting the ice underneath trying to break through it.

"FUCK! RUBY! WAKE UP!" Mercury screamed.

He had never been so terrified in his life. It would have been a different story if they were land but they weren't. He wasn't as strong as Ruby apparently since he could lift such a heavy ass weapon. He messed around with it until it opened up into a scythe. He had to admit it felt a little lighter.

"Come on Ruby!"

Mercury was scared he was going to hurt her by breaking a rib but he had to push harder. He gave one final hard push and she started coughing up water then she vomited. Her breathing was shallow but she was breathing. Mercury gave her a few light slaps in the face until she looked at him tiredly.

"Wake up! We are going to die if you don't wake up."

It seemed like she didn't understand.

"We are too far into the game to quit now! Get the hell up Ruby!"

Mercury pulled her onto his back and grabbed her weapon with one hand.

"Why the hell did you make this shit so damn heavy!"

Mercury took a deep breath and started running as fast as he could with Ruby on him and her weapon in on of his hands. Luckily she didn't feel as heavy as her scythe but he was going to tire out fast. The Grimm finally busted through the ice pathway but luckily it was behind them. It spotted them and started screeching again. It slammed it's tail down onto the ice and Mercury fell over.

"Ow!" Mercury groaned.

Ruby turned over on the ice groaning in pain.

"If don't get up we are going to die!" Mercury hissed.

Ruby finally managed to sit up and look around.

"I drank so much salt water..." she hissed and vomited again to his dismay.

"Puke it up then get up! I can't use your ridiculous weapon!"

Ruby smirked at him and stood up. Her legs were wobbly but she grabbed her weapon from Mercury's hand.

"I'm sorry... I don't feel good but I'll do my best."

She looked down at him.

"Run."

Mercury got up, "Are you sure?"

"If it decides to break the ice I want you to be on stable land. Run."

Mercury nodded and started running. He watched as Ruby disappeared and reappeared in front of the sea serpent. She looked miserable and tired but she was the only chance the two of them had. He stopped at some point and saw just in time as Ruby took the head off of it. It collapsed onto the ice throwing chunks everywhere before the body fell into the water.

Mercury waited a few minutes before he started walking back. He saw her laying on the ice with her weapon wedged into the ice.

"Ruby!"

X

X

" _I can't believe this all happened."_

 _Roman looked at his girlfriend. They were hiding in an underground tunnel that was beneath her childhood home. Qrow and Taiyang had died protecting the house from an enormous amount of Grimm that invaded the area. Yang sat there beside of her sister with her only one arm._

 _Roman could feel the anger and hate coming off of the older sister but he had warned them a while ago. He was mad too because no one had believed him when he tried to warn them that Cinder wasn't the main bad guy. He was mad because of the whole team could've convinced more people they could have prevented this tragedy._

 _They waited down there four hours before they came out and dealt with the left over Grimm. They went the wreckage and picked out the stuff they needed before they would head out. It was unsure if anyone else was still alive that they knew._

 _The three of them headed out from there back to Beacon. They managed to get a few video calls out to Blake and Weiss. It then would be time to decide how they would go about defeating Salem once and for all... If they had everyone still alive._

 _X_

 _X_

"There's some much plant life over here."

Adam and Blake looked around at the area they had entered. The place looked it was almost untouched by the human race.

"I think that is a little weird..." Adam said pulling out his weapon.

"I don't think so... If it is uninhabited by people then that means the Void is nearby. We are finally going to find everyone!" Blake said with a cheerful smile on her face.

Adam couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe we can find some fruit too! I love fish but I'm kind of sick of it after all this time."

Adam snorted, "Could've fooled me with the way you were eating them."

Blake nudged him playfully.

"Thank you Adam... You made this trip more bearable for me."

"Well... I could say the same. You don't have to keep thanking me really."

Blake smiled and took his hand.

"I hope there are more people in the world after all this. I know it might take a few years but I'll be ready to start a family once everything is somewhat back to normal."

He stared at her.

"A-are you serious?"

"I am. I don't want to fight anymore after this. I wish I could go back. I wish I could've made Yang listen to me. Maybe we could have done something but..."

Adam put a finger on her lips.

"Enough. If I was you and her I would've thought the same."

Blake bit her lip.

"No one would've seen all this. No one."

"I know," she whispered.

"Let's find them. I know it's going to be a little rocky at first because no one is going to like me but I want to try. I want you to be happy for a short bit."


	12. Growing Problem

"There's a big problem..." Weiss said.

Everyone looked at her.

"What problem?" Roman asked getting up.

"Normally I see maybe five to six Grimm tops a day whenever I look but... Lately... There's been three an hour now."

Roman made a face.

"I wonder if she caught on that people had gathered here.  
 _Bzzzzzzt_

 _Bzzzzzzzzzt Shhhhhhhhh_

Everyone looked around the room.

" _ **Weiss?"**_

Everyone then looked at the heiress.

"My ear pieces!"

Weiss got up and placed one in her ear.

" _ **Go ahead Oobleck.. I can hear you."**_

" _ **I had launched a few bombs a few miles out. I was looking to see if anyone else had joined us in the region but I haven't seen anyone."**_

" _ **Neo and Yang has joined us actually,"**_ Weiss said.

Neo was the only one who couldn't understand the foreign language. She looked around to see no one but her was confused by what was going on.

" _ **An extra person! Why that is good to hear! Is she trust worthy?!"**_

Weiss looked over at Roman who nodded.

" _ **Yes sir she is. In fact she had beat Yang on that train during our mission together if you can remember that."**_

" _ **Ah! Yes, yes! Miss Xiao Long was furious!"**_

Weiss and Roman laughed but Yang crossed her arms looking away.

" _ **Can I ask why you did that though?"**_

 _ **"I was testing it... I found other resources besides Dust. The ones I ended up attacking were Seers actually and I know how annoying those are. I will be stationed in the icy mountains of Atlas. Once you need me give me an hour head start for it and I'll make my way over. This plane will be strong enough to make it through that Void. Did you explain everything to them?"**_

She looked back at her friends who looked as lost as Neo now.

" _ **Not yet. I was hoping everyone would be here. We are still waiting on Blake and Ruby."**_

" _ **Miss Schnee, we may not be able to wait much longer. I would give it another day and then start."**_

She bit her lip as she stared at the ground. They had agreed on a time limit and they had hoped the human race could survive most of it but he was right they were nearing the end of what they had agreed too. She was hoping that everyone would've been here by now and things did happen...

" _ **I didn't want too unless we had Ruby and Blake but if you think that's what is best then... I can't disagree. We'll have to leave the marker back for anyone who doesn't make it in time."**_

" _ **Sounds good. Good bye Miss Schnee."**_

"We need Ruby!" Roman said standing up.

He looked over hoping for Yang's support but she had the same look as Weiss.

"We ended up one more person than we thought. We just have to wait for Blake or Ruby to hopefully show," Weiss said taking a seat.

"So you had planned going in with only five people?" Neo asked looking at Roman.

"Yea... Worse case scenario... four."

"I was thinking there might've been ten of you. Ten of you to fight and that I would just be adding onto that."

"We weren't sure who was going to be alive. Pyrrha died and we don't want happened to the rest of team JNPR. We've heard rumors they died or a few of them did..." Yang said.

"You can leave if you like."

Neo turned towards Roman, "What?"

"You don't have to fight Neo. All of us knew our chances weren't good when we came up with the idea but what else do we have? I'm scared too because I am not as good as everyone else and that puts everyone at a disadvantage. I will probably die first but I'm willing to go in anyways because anyone we have is good enough to go against her."

Neo looked over at Yang who looked upset and her eyes were blood red. She could see the worry on her face then she looked over at the Schnee heiress. Her face was expressionless but it looked like she had enough time to think about it all. No one had faltered in their decision to fight Salem.

Neo sighed and reached out grabbing Roman's face.

"You do fight like a child but you won't die. I will be there to fight for you and protect you. You will not die, Roman."

Roman smiled, "Sounds like old times..."

X

X

"Man, it looks like they laid waste to this area."

They had passed a small town from what it looked like and now it looked like the desert. Blake knelt down and ran her fingers through the dirt and smelled the air. To her the town looked it was recently demolished compared to the area they were staring at now. It was strange...

"I wonder how much further Weiss is in here... Anybody for that matter."

"Should we go back? If we get too close to the Void then she might see us and send Grimm to come kill us. We don't want that being so far in..."

"It is getting close to the evening already... We can go back and come here again early morning. It looks so empty. I wonder if something important was here at some point and they destroyed everything?"

"I can see that."

X

X

Mercury collapsed onto the sandy beach of the unknown region he came from months ago. Ruby was shivering and her body was cold but they were both alive. It seemed like she was worn out or just sick after she fell into the ocean. Night had fallen already.

He was tempted to crawl into the warm sand himself but he needed to warm Ruby up. The sand was hotter than he would like but he dug some out making a shallow hole not even half a foot deep. As embarrassing as it was for him to do it, he stripped Ruby down to her undies and bra. He placed her into the sand hole and started covering her with warm sand.

Mercury rinsed his hands off and looked around. He didn't want to be here without her awake but what choice did he have now? He looked down at her to see she had some color returning to her cheeks already. He wondered how sick she was or if she was just too exhausted from her journey to be ok.

 _Damnit... I should be fucking ashamed. She pretty much carried me this whole way and all I can think is about myself. I wouldn't worry too much but I have no weapon. What if they see us here? What can I do? She's practically naked and out of it. I'm no match for that witch or Cinder for that matter._

 _X_

 _X_

" _I can't believe all of this."_

 _Yang stared at Weiss. The five of them stood outside of Beacon._

" _Neither can I. I knew what she had planned to a point but this was much more of a large scale... She destroyed everything," Roman said looked upward at the Grimm iced to the top of the school._

 _Ruby looked upward too then Weiss._

" _I can't believe you did that," Weiss said scratching her head._

" _Does it matter what anyone can do?" Yang snapped making her friend flinch._

" _I wonder... What's so special about you? You never showed that ability before..." Weiss said ignoring Yang's angry outburst.._

" _I don't ever remember doing that."_

" _Did your mom ever do anything like that?" Blake asked._

 _Ruby turned to her older sister, "Yang? Did she?"_

 _Yang looked away, "She could grow flowers. She could manipulate them. I remember Dad saying Mom was special because of her eyes."_

" _Ozpin had said something about my silver eyes when I first met him."_

" _Like... it's a genetic thing... Like Ice Queen's glyphs?"_

 _Weiss shot Roman a dirty look._

" _Uncle Qrow said something that silver eyed people were destined warriors."_

" _Anything else?" Blake asked._

" _He said a single look from one of them could strike a Grimm down..."_

 _Everyone looked up at the giant Grimm frozen on the school._

" _There may be some truth to that then..." Weiss said._

" _I say... we speak of this to no one," Yang said._

" _I agree," Roman said._

" _Why?" Ruby asked._

" _They might go after you first..." Blake said._

" _Well... then I'll practice so I can get better at controlling it!" Ruby announced._

 _Roman smiled, "That is something you would say."_

 _Ruby took Yang's hand, "You have to believe everything will be ok in the end. It'll just take time."_

" _I'll try to think that way. Thanks, sis."_

 _Ruby hugged her tightly._

" _Let's get moving..." Roman said, "Just in case anything comes this way."_

 _X_

 _X_

Ruby sat up making the sand fall to her sides. She felt rather confused to why she was buried in the sand. She looked around and saw Mercury was asleep a few feet away. She got up and brushed the sand off of her. She stretched and headed for the water. Her body hurt all over.

Ruby got lucky Mercury had walked away when he did. She had froze that Grimm in place before taking it's head off for good. It wasn't the smartest thing to do when she was tired and felt sick but it was all she had left. They weren't going to make it alive if she didn't do something quick.

She rinsed the sand off and tried to clean herself off as best as she could. The sand came off but the salt from the water would end up staying until she dried off later. The sun started to rise about thirty minutes later when she decided to get dressed and she woke Mercury up.

"Hey."

He looked at her sleepily.

"I'm glad you're awake finally. Are you ok?" he asked trying to wake up.

"Yea... I just made a dumb decision to fight a giant creature and pushed myself when I wasn't a hundred percent."

"I can see that."

"Are you ready to wake up? I think it's time to get moving."

Ruby helped him up from his sleeping spot.

"So this is what you've been doing since you left."

Ruby let go of his hand and he fell back into the sand.

"Cinder," she hissed.

Mercury felt the blood in his body run cold. It wasn't because Cinder was standing there... it was the look in Ruby's eyes that scared him.


	13. Cinder VS Ruby

"You look so happy to see me," Cinder said with an evil grin on her face.

Ruby stayed quiet as Mercury got up on his own.

"You have nothing to say? I don't mind talking... I am quite surprised to see that you're both alive especially you Ruby. You and your pathetic excuse for a boyfriend disappeared after we destroyed your school... Quick to abandon everything huh?"

"I don't think taunting me would be very wise on your part, Cinder."

"You think I'm afraid of you?" Cinder hissed, "I will crush you and him!"

Ruby shook her head, "Not today and not ever. It ends here with your death."

Mercury stared at Ruby like she was nuts.

"She's the Fall Maiden!" his hissed.

"I don't give a shit about her title."

Mercury had never seen her so angry even when she found him in the snow.

"You can go if you want. I won't stop you," Ruby whispered.

Her gaze had softened some.

"I won't leave you behind."

Ruby gave him a weird look, "Thanks. It means a lot."

"I can't tell if you're serious or mocking me."

"It's a tie," she said and clicked open Crescent Rose.

"You think you can beat me? You're still a small child," Cinder said.

"I don't care what you think. I am taking you down for Pyrrha. She never deserved to go out that way."

Ruby disappeared into thin air blowing sand in all directions. Cinder didn't have time to react. Ruby's left foot connected with her chest knocking her back ten feet. She disappeared into thin air again and slammed her scythe into the woman's body. Her aura caught the blow from going through her abdomen but it definitely hurt her.

Cinder barely had any time to react as Ruby charged in at her with such high speed, Mercury could barely keep up with it. Once Cinder managed to break free of the barrage of blows, fire balls started flying at Ruby. A few stray ones almost his Mercury.

X

X

"I think I hear fighting?" Weiss said.

Everyone got quiet. Roman pulled out a glass and poured some liquor into it. The liquid had some movement to it then suddenly it started having bigger move frequent ripples in the glass. Neo looked at Weiss, "What do we do?"

"I don't even know who's fighting but... It's risk to go out there and look. It could be a trap for all we know..."

"I think we should stay here but we need to be on visual watch..." Roman said.

"There's four scopes. Roman take south. Neo west. Yang east. I'll take north."

Everyone took their positions and waited. For the next ten minutes nothing happened. Roman was starting to fall asleep in his chair when he heard something above where he was at. He turned the scope as far as he could upward. He waved his hand excitedly like someone was going to see him.

It was Blake Belladonna.

"Weiss! Yang! It's Blakkkkkee!"

Roman watched as Weiss sprinted across their bunker like an athlete with Yang right behind her. Weiss threw the hatch open and pulled herself out. Blake turned around in time just to get tackled by Weiss then Yang right to the ground. All three of them started sobbing like crazy.

Adam stood on the sidelines feeling slightly uncomfortable knowing they hadn't seen him yet. Roman and Neo came out next to see Adam standing there. Neo could see the weird look on his face. Roman and her both knew once Yang realized Adam was standing there it was going to be a war.

"I missed you! You have no idea!" Yang cried.

"I missed you too! We weren't sure if you were ever coming back from Menagerie!"

"I'm fine... Guys... Um we have to talk."

Yang pulled away and she looked up to see Adam standing there.

"You motherfucker!" Yang screamed.

She tried to get up but Blake wrapped her arms around her waist nearing smothering herself in Yang's large breasts. Weiss sat there and stared at the man. This was really the first time she had seen him. His eyes were a reddish brown and he most definitely was a Faunus. The thing that rang in her mind was that this was the person who hurt Blake a long time ago.

X

X

Ruby and Cinder were both wearing down but Ruby was refusing to go down. She had taken a lot of damage but she was still standing. Mercury was hiding behind a rock now because they had started to get crazier with their moves. He was scared Ruby was going to push herself too far and she would end up collapsing to her death.

There was no denying it...

Ruby had become stronger.

The Ruby that had taken a few kicks from him over two years ago was not the same person he had been traveling with. The Ruby before him was more experienced and ready to kill. He could see the fear in Cinder's eyes. They had made a mistake in letting her live that night when Beacon and Vale fell.

Mercury remembered listening to Cinder spouting off non sense about wanting revenge when he thought she should have let it go. She had killed off that wanna be Fall maiden... Cinder didn't want to let go and here she was having her ass handed to her. Cinder had said if the battle with Pyrrha had went on any longer she would've lost.

"Give it up already!" Cinder screamed.

"I can't and I won't! Not after everything you did!" Ruby screamed, "I didn't come this far to give in! I didn't come this far to let you walk away! You will die here even if I end up dying with you!"

"You're a spoiled brat!" Cinder screamed.

"NO!" Ruby screamed and stomped her foot.

Cinder's mouth snapped shut quickly.

"All I ever wanted to do what help others! I never wanted anything more in my life. Instead you come along and take away people's lives like you have the right! I am not a spoiled child because I lost people when I was young. There is only one spoiled brat here and it's you. No one is here to save you now... No one will run to your rescue because you're a crappy excuse for a human."

Ruby started walking forward in her half burnt clothes. Cinder started firing up her Dust clothes but it was too late. Ruby disappeared from her sight and she reappeared behind her. She had the end of her scythe up and she stabbed Cinder through the back up through her chest. Cinder turned around half way before falling to her knees.

She stared at Ruby while her mouth opened and closed but no sound had come out. She grabbed the end of her scythe's handle and jerked it through her chest up to the scythe's blade. Cinder coughed up more blood and her body was shaking almost violently now. The light faded from her eyes and Ruby walked back behind her.

Ruby pulled her scythe by the blade making her hand bleed slightly but she ignored the pain. She went over to the water and washed her scythe off despite the fact the salt water was stinging her hands. Mercury came out from behind the rock slowly. He stared at Ruby waiting for her to get the Maiden power but she didn't.

"I don't understand."

Ruby looked at him.

"You didn't get the power..."

Ruby smiled and looked down at the water.

"I whispered Emerald's name to her and asked her if she was still alive. I threatened to kill her. I guess with her thinking of her... That power went to Emerald instead of me."

Mercury relaxed, "You did it to... save her?"

Ruby nodded.

"Unless Cinder was lying her last moments of death. I heard the power goes to younger women not older ones so it wouldn't go to Salem anyways."

Mercury scratched his head but it was true.

"Well... you wanna keep going?" he asked.

Ruby nodded and got up. They were half way through the beach when her legs gave out.

"Shit! Are you ok!?"

"My legs are pretty burned up..." she whispered hoarsely.

He looked down to see them burnt in spots and it looked disgusting.

"You didn't care... You were really going for it... You have anything in your backpack?"

Ruby's eyes widened, "I do actually... I um... Didn't want to use it unless I had to but I do have some other stuff that might help."

Ruby pulled out a small tube of antibiotic cream, some bandages and numbing spray. Mercury was glad the bandages still worked after being soaked in freezing ocean water. She made a face when the spray hit the open wounds but she got over it quickly. They sat in the soft, green grass while Ruby recovered for a short bit.

"I'm sorry I keep slowing us down..."

Mercury let out a short laugh.

"You aren't. You've been walking all this time... I think you're doing great. It's best to rest before a big battle right?"

Ruby smiled and nodded.

"I feel like a mummy though with my legs wrapped up," she said touching her legs.

 _Please... Guys wait for me... I'm trying to get there._


	14. Executing the Plan

"Oobleck... You have your hour to get started. Do you read me?"

 _"Yes ma'am! Miss Schnee did anyone else show up?"_

Weiss looked back behind her to see everyone staring at Adam.

"Blake and a friend showed up. I believe he is trustworthy."

 _"Ah! Great news! Great news!"_

"See you soon."

Weiss pulled out the ear piece and turned around to face her friends.

"You can keep mean mugging him but we do need him."

"He cut off my arm!" Yang yelled, "How can I be ok with this?!"

Neo was sitting by herself going through a wet magazine.

"You forgave me for almost killing you. Besides... He's fast and it seems Blake has some control over him."

Yang shot her a dirty look but she was right.

"Things will be fine. We have to make it alive first before we can be mad at anyone," Neo stated, "Let's get ready now and prepare to give the biggest fight of our lives."

"I don't feel comfortable going in without Ruby."

Everyone looked at Roman.

"You think she's that powerful?" his ex partner asked.

"She is and she's fast."

Neo rolled her eyes. The rest of team RWBY knew they would be better off if Ruby had been there too but what could they do? Anything could have happened but no one wanted to think the worst.

The worst of her... being gone.

"We have to go regardless," Weiss announced, "I don't like it anymore than anyone else but we all have gotten stronger than the last time we saw each other. We just have to try the best we can. I believe we can win but we all have to think that too. Once we win, we can look for Ruby."

Yang smiled, "I like that idea! Let's kick this bitch's ass!"

Yang stood up and held out her metal hand. Weiss rolled her eyes and placed hers on top and then everyone else followed suit even though they thought it was the dumbest thing ever but they had grins on their faces. It took them ten minutes to get ready and get out of the bunker.

They left Ruby an encrypted message by their home and they were gone. It was only a thirty minute walk to the Void itself. They would arrive before Bartholomew and Weiss would give him the go ahead to go through when they had Salem distracted. Weiss had kept some of the plan to herself.

The only other person who knew anything about it was Ruby and she wasn't there.

Weiss had created a last resort plan if everything started to go down hill but she hoped that she wouldn't have to use it. Ruby had assured her she probably wouldn't have to use it but she wasn't so sure herself. They had barely any information on Salem since no one was able to offer anything since they died.

Weiss had been conflicted since the moment they had split up. She didn't want to separate either like Ruby but Yang had convinced her otherwise with Roman's help. Even though she ended up meeting up with Roman a long time ago, she was heart broken. Ruby wasn't her very first friend but she was her best friend.

X

X

 _"You think we'll be fine out there?"_

 _Weiss shook her head, "No. I think we should've went in pairs."_

 _"I don't want to be away from any of you. It makes no sense to be on our own."_

 _"We could be spotted in a larger group."_

 _They sat in silence for a few minutes._

 _"What if... we aren't strong enough in the end?" Ruby whispered, "What if this was all for nothing?"_

 _"Nothing. It may all be for nothing or maybe something. We could hide together and wait for death or fight death. I know this is a lose-lose situation but I want to fight to live."_

 _Ruby's eyes filled with tears, "How can you be so sure?"_

 _"Because... I'm tired of crying."_

 _Weiss stared at her best friend with pain on her face and her heart hurting._

 _"I love my sister so much and my mother but... I have you guys too. I don't want anyone to hurt anymore and I want to prevent it. I wished all my life wishing I could do something and now is my chance to do something... anything. I can't wait around and watch you be in more pain than you are. Ruby... I love you."_

 _Ruby's bottom lip quivered, "I love you too Weiss!"_

 _They hugged each other for the longest time. It was just them left because Roman and Yang had left days before them. Neither one wanted to leave but it had to be done and they promised the others they would. Weiss pulled away and grabbed a small white box with a snowflake on it. She handed it to Ruby._

 _"What's this?" she whispered._

 _"It's our last resort. Something I made special for you and me."_

 _"Why just us?" Ruby whispered._

 _"Because I didn't have enough time for anyone else. It's a special boost. It's built just for you and only you. Blake is Faunus and Yang has her arm. We generally have nothing that boost our physical being so this was what I could come up with."_

 _"Are you sure this is ok?"_

 _Weiss took Ruby's hand, "It gets stronger with time. The effects last about two hours. If you feel when we go in that you aren't strong enough, use it. There is no shame. I'm not physically strong like the other two. Or even you. I m so dainty and fragile. You can't do hand to hand combat either. So this is like a cheat."_

 _"Will it last forever? Like side effects?"_

 _Weiss shrugged, "If it does... We can deal."_

 _Ruby laughed and placed her box in her pocket._

 _"I'll keep it close."_

 _"I made me a red box. It has a rose on top," the heiress said holding it up for her friend to see._

 _"Why?"_

 _"To remind me of what is important. I don't want to forget you and it'll keep me strong."_

 _"Weiss, you're my best friend."_

 _"You're mine too."_

 _They both stood up and headed for the hallway that slanted upward towards the surface. Ruby opened the door and sunlight flooded in. They shielded their eyes for a few seconds before they adjusted to the light. They closed the door and padlocked it shut just in case they ever came back._

 _"Bye Ruby."_

 _"Bye... Bye Weiss."_

 _They parted ways into the destroyed world of Remnant._

X

X

Weiss closed her fist around the faded red box in her pocket. She had kept her promise all this time and wasn't going to lose now. They saw a large weird ship in the sky but in the window you could see the green hair belonging to Professor Oobleck. He landed in the trees and he waited for them.

"Are we ready?" he called as they got close enough.

"We are."

Weiss handed everyone an ear piece.

"I will give the call for you to land it inside the Void near where Salem is when the time is right," Weiss said, "Everyone..."

The heiress turned around, "If anyone wants to bail now... You can."

No one said a word.

"There is no shame in it now."

Neo snorted and popped open her torn parasol, "Let's get this party started. I haven't killed anyone lately and I need to get my fix."

Everyone grimaced and Yang laughed nervously.

They walked into the forest for about five minutes before Bartholomew held up his hand. It was hard to see but it looked like there was small ripples in the air before them. The people who survived the apocalypse had called the vortex the Void but it was really the Void to Hell. Inside was Grimm and Salem. This was where Grimm came from and no one ever walked out alive.

"Will we get through alive?" Roman asked.

"Yes," Neo answered, "I came through here many times before they got rid of me."

Weiss took a deep breath and walked through first.

X

X

"When did you need to repair your weapon?"

"I thought I would end up doing it back there but I didn't see the sign."

"What sign is that?"

"A literal sign with a dead language on it."

"That is quite interesting."

"If you're getting tired you can put me down."

Mercury stopped and crouched down so Ruby could slid off his back.

"I didn't want to say anything but my back is a little tired and cramped up."

"It's ok."

A short while later they came across the same place all of their teammates passed.

"Wow... I didn't know there was a city here," Ruby said.

"Yea... It was still up when I had left. I wonder if she destroyed it thinking people would flock here and give away her location."

Ruby felt her legs give out some and she fell down.

"Are you ok?!"

She nodded and laid down on her back.

"I think I need to lay down. I just need to make it a little while longer."

"How can you fight when you are so badly burned?" he asked kneeling beside of her.

"I won't be for very long. I just I had some pain killers but I don't have any. I'll be fine. I have been through a lot worse."

"I have a question."

Ruby looked up at him and he looked slightly concerned.

"Did you guys have a start time when you wanted to fight her or was it when everyone got together?"

She looked away feeling ashamed.

"I'm a week late."

"What?!"

"I was barely on time when I ran into you."

Mercury said nothing.

"I was so angry when I ran into you. I wanted nothing more than to kill you to avenge Penny but... I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I never needed to stop on that beach but I had to practice what Weiss had taught me. It is important that I knew for sure how far I had come. I knew I would be late but Cinder threw me back even further."

"So... we are late to the party huh?"

Ruby nodded.

"I think... we will make in time. Kind of like in the movies when back up arrives."

She laughed, "Yea, sure."

"I can carry you some more if you want?" he offered.

"Ok... if you don't mind."

X

X

The place was so evil looking it almost seemed like Hell. The clouds were a weird purple color producing lightning and the sky was black as night. There were crystals all around them with people seal inside them but they looked dead. The place had the smell of death itself and it was horrible. The only person seemed unfazed by this was Neo.

"I always hated this place," Adam said.

"I don't blame you."

"You wanna know how she makes Grimm?" Neo asked.

Everyone grimaced but Weiss was curious.

"How?" the heiress asked.

"Well, she does it through people. Everyone trapped inside these crystals are still alive. Depending on their souls, they create Grimm. The crystals are actually Salem's semblance. They rip apart the soul first producing over a thousand Grimm then the body goes. The more malice the person has the more sinister the Grimm.

"Once in a while a soul so pure will come across creating the albino Grimm but it is a lot more deadly than the regular run of the mill Grimm. It is a lot smarter and a lot scarier than the stuff you run into. I have never seen an albino be born but I have seen them before. They come out of those black puddles you see."

"That's the worse fucking thing I have ever heard," Roman said.

"What did you expect?" Neo asked, "She's evil."

"I don't even know what to say to all this," Yang said.

"Anyone killed by Grimm is stored here. Honestly, you're a lot better off being killed by a family member than one of those monsters. Salem is almost a thousand years old."

 _"So... You have returned."_

Everyone paused as the venomous voice filled the air.

 _"Are you responsible for killing Cinder?"_ the voice asked.

They looked at each other.

 _"That's a no then? I wouldn't be surprised if one of my pets got to her. She was blind in one eye."_

Everyone stayed quiet.

 _"If you really wish to challenge me then come to my castle. I can't wait, I've been bored lately."_


	15. RWBY

Neo looked around.

"I think I know why we haven't seen any Grimm lately."

"Why?" Weiss whispered.

"There's hardly any people alive anymore or the rest of them are hiding really well."

Everyone seemed more uneasy than before with Neo talking.

"Yang?" Neo asked grabbing her hand.

"Y-yes?"

"You don't need to be scared. I'm here for you."

The blonde nodded but it didn't ease the worry off her mind.

 _I wish Ruby was here but in a way, it makes me feel better she is out of harm's way. I know this is no one's fault but... I can't help but feel angry at myself. I'm angry for not believing her when I had the chance. Maybe we could have changed everything... I'm so stupid. Mom and Dad... I'm so sorry._

Yang dropped to her knees and started crying. Everyone was so shocked by it but then again, they wanted to cry themselves. Neo held Yang's head against her body as she cried. Blake and Weiss knelt down and hugged her. Roman and Adam stood there uncomfortably while she cried her eyes out.

"Things will be fine," Blake whispered.

Neo snorted, "No it won't."

They all stared at her. Blake was slightly annoyed.

"Beautiful, look at me," Neo said with a smile and Yang looked up with a tear covered face, "I can't promise we will win coming out unharmed but I will do my best to fight by your side. I can't promise everything will be ok but in the end, it'll be worth it. There is no shame in crying. I want to cry too but I have to be strong.

"You cry as much as you need but the moment we step up against her, dry those tears and put on a strong face. You're only human. If it is bothering you, Ruby will be ok too. She's probably on her way here, she's a little behind is all. If you keep crying when you fight, you'll get more hurt than you need too."

Yang wiped her eyes.

"Ok."

X

X

Ruby had fallen asleep on his back but he didn't mind. She needed the rest because she would be the one fighting more than him. He really needed a weapon but he hadn't seen in the longest time. He would prefer if his legs would work like they used too. Night was beginning to fall faster than he had expected making this more dangerous.

He knew they weren't far away now. Once they crossed one more land of rubble, they would be headed for the forest where the portal was at. Mercury shivered, he didn't want to face her again and he honestly wanted to bail now more than ever. He didn't realize he was digging his nails into Ruby's already hurt legs until she whispered into his ear.

"If you're mad at me you can tell me. You don't have to hurt my legs."

He jumped almost dropping her.

"Fuck sake's Ruby!"

"Sorry."

She looked around.

"Stop."

"What?"

"Stop."

She got down and looked around.

"Weiss would've hid as close as she could to the enemy. She said it was the best thing."

"So... what am I looking for?" Mercury asked.

"A weird looking sign. It has an old language on it."

He arched an eyebrow and started looking.

An hour passed by but Ruby didn't care. Even with the moonlight being the only source of light, she had to look. Even though her legs were killing her and the shooting pains were excruciating, she pushed through it. She saw a flat piece of concrete laying down and it looked like the ground had been disturbed recently.

"Mercury!"

"Yea? Did you find something?" he called back.

"Come help me lift this."

Mercury jumped over the rubble and saw what she was talking about. There were foot prints from a few sets of feet in the dirt but it was hard to tell. He could see the drag marks from the concrete slab too. They lifted it back and it fell crushing smaller rocks.

"Is that the words you were talking about?" he asked

Ruby fell to her knees, covering her mouth. Even though she had known that at least one of her friends had to be alive, it gave her hope seeing her name painted on the metal door. Everything they worked so hard to do was finally coming to an end. She gripped the handle and pulled.

The door made screeching noises but neither one of them minded. She pulled off her back pack and pulled out a flashlight. It wasn't the best but it bright enough she could see where the floor dropped. Mercury went first then held out his arms to catch Ruby just in case she fell.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"Hey... there's a light switch..."

"You're shitting me..." Mercury said.

There was a light switch in a crappy bunker?

"Climb up and close the door and lock it. I'll flip the lights on."

Ruby flipped on the lights as soon as the door slammed shut. They both gasped seeing the place almost looked like a home. Across the wall in white paint was stuff written from everyone. Ruby's eyes welled up with tears and she sat down at the table.

 _I made it Sis! We'll see you soon! -Yang_

 _I made it safely! Can't wait to see you! -Blake_

 _I made it on the ground alive you bitch lol -Neo_

 _Baby, I love you. I can't wait to see you -Roman_

 _I made it here with Blake, I'll do my best -Adam_

 _You made it leader of RWBY -Weiss_

"Seems like they knew you were coming," Mercury said placing a hand on her shoulder, "You're lucky they seem to really love you."

Ruby nodded.

"You need a few minutes?" Mercury asked and she nodded again.

He left her alone as he searched the bunker. He found a letter addressed to Ruby on what seemed to be Weiss' bed. He grabbed it and then headed to the next room. It looked like Roman was sleeping in that one because he left his tattered bowler hat behind there. Mercury sat down on Roman's bed and looked at it.

It was hard to say how he felt now. Mercury thought he was going to die alone and then Ruby showed up. He felt some shame that he wouldn't have made it without her but everyone needed someone to lean on. This was the last stretch and he was afraid he would have to battle Emerald. He didn't want that.

"Hey."

Mercury looked up to see Ruby leaning against the doorway.

"You ok now?" he asked and she smiled.

"I feel ten times better now. Everyone made it."

Mercury smiled and held out the letter.

"I think your friend Weiss had this for you. It was on her bed."

Ruby limped to the bed and sat down. He handed her the letter and hat. She hugged the hat tightly and sighed.

"It still smells like him," she whispered.

She ripped open the letter.

 _Dear Ruby,_

 _I waited until the last day before we left to write this. Things will be hard from here on out. Adam and Neo showed up to join the game. I hope you have someone with you too just in case. I left a box of metal that I shaped out for your scythe since you gave me the dimensions and math for everything when we were still in school. I never knew why I kept it but I'm glad I did._

 _I left some extra weapons under my bed for you. There are a few knives and a Dust sword. It is primitive but it will work. I can't believe after all this time... We would end up doing something like this. I know it may not mean much now but you are a great leader._

 _It's hard when everyone depends on you._

 _Get yourself ready. We are going to need you._

 _Love Weiss_

 _P.S._

 _the box is in the floor at the foot of my bed_.

Ruby got up and started digging into the ground with her bare hands. Mercury helped her and much to their surprise the dirt was loose so it wasn't too hard to get out. The box was rather heavy and bigger than they had both thought. Ruby pulled out the pieces one by one. The blade for her scythe was so sharp she cut her shirt.

"Damn... She made sure it was sharp."

Ruby grinned.

"Grab the box. We have work to do."

They headed for the table and unloaded everything. Ruby looked up at the wall again, feeling everything all over again.

 _I'm almost there. I'm sorry I'm late but you all won't regret this._

 _I'm almost there._


	16. Fight to the Finish

"This is it."

Ruby looked at the portal but it looked like nothing was there but trees and shrubbery.

"Are… are you sure?"

Mercury nodded.

"If you were a villain, would you allow anyone and everyone to know where you were hidden?"

"I guess that's true."

"After we enter, she's going to know we are there. There's no turning back after this. Are you sure you want to do this?" he whispered.

Ruby took a deep breath.

 _Everything we did led up to this. I can't back out now. Everyone who died… Everyone who lived through the pain. Everyone who is in there fighting… I came to do this for them. I promised Weiss. I promised Roman. I promised Yang and Blake. I promised Jaune, Nora and Ren I would avenge Pyrrha once I got the chance._

Ruby looked over at Mercury.

 _Penny… I know you were nothing but a robot to most but you were my friend. Even though I had a deep hatred for Mercury, I don't see the same kid from that day. I see a man who was wrong in his ways and realized it. I want to forgive him and if I am to be punished for your death instead of him then so be it._

"Mercury."

"Yea?"

"I forgive you."

He looked shocked.

"Wow."

"You seem surprised."

"Only because you mean it."

Ruby smiled and looked down at the ground.

"Can I ask a favor?"

Mercury chuckled, "It won't be any different from the other one hundred you have asked me lately."

"Thanks… Um… Can I have a hug?" she asked with an uncertain look on her face.

He looked taken back.

"I… I guess?"

Ruby wrapped her arms around his waist. Mercury felt so awkward but it seemed her gesture was genuine and she wasn't planning on stabbing him in the back… literally. He hugged her back.

"I've been needing one of those for a long time."

"I can tell."

They parted.

"I'm ready."

"Me too."

Ruby took his hand and she gave it a squeeze.

"Do we run or jump…?"

Mercury laughed nervously, "We can walk into it."

They walked through together not knowing if this would be the last time they saw the outside world apart from Salem's hell. Only time would tell.

X

X

Nothing could have prepared them for the hell they had decided to run into. Not the fact they killed Grimm on their adventures or the human enemies they had vanquished along the way. The power gap between them was still too much. Salem was the strongest opponent they had faced and it wasn't going well.

Everyone was badly hurt except Yang and Neo.

"What are we going to do?!" Yang yelled.

Salem looked pretty exhausted herself. Her black cloak was tattered and she had an annoyed look on her face.

"Is that all you have?!" she screamed at them.

It was. They were too tired to get up. They used every man-made healing solution Weiss and Oobleck had created. Their auras were depleting faster than expected. Yang looked over at Weiss.

"How much longer can we take this Weiss? Someone is going to die!" the blonde screamed.

Weiss looked defeated but the blast they had ready to take Salem out would only wound her. They needed to take her down some more before the explosives would make their intentioned purpose happen. She looked at Roman and he was barely hanging onto consciousness. He wasn't a strong fighter to begin with and he did what he could.

Weiss wanted to cry.

 _We failed. We should have waited for Ruby… We should have waited for her to come back before we did this. This was so stupid._

 ** _Miss Schnee! Do not give up! I can tell you're close!_**

"I don't think we have it in us anymore…" she whispered, tears falling onto her cheeks.

 ** _Give it a few minutes._**

"I…. doubt we have that much in us."

 ** _I don't think we trained you to give up so easily at Beacon. Did we?_**

She smiled, "No."

Weiss struggled but she stood up.

"Go in Yang. As fast you can…"

Yang nodded and ran towards Salem with everything she had. Glyphs plunged the blonde brute towards her enemy faster but she was ready for it. Yang's fist connected with Salem's face and she could feel the woman's skin break with blood soaking her fist in the process.

"HOW DARE YOU!"

Salem slammed her fist into Yang's stomach, sending her flying. Yang closed her eyes expecting this to be the end of her. She didn't tell Weiss she had exhausted her aura to almost nothing. Whatever she would hit would end up killing her but at least she tried. That's all she could do.

Yang felt her body jerk and she was sudden still. Someone was holding her. She opened her eyes and looked up to see Mercury holding her tightly. He had caught her at such a high pace.

"What the fuck-

"I got her Ruby!"

"OK!"

Yang looked about wildly trying to see her sister but she was nowhere to be seen.

"RUBY!" Yang screamed.

Mercury looked down to see a case laying on the ground with a few syringes. The lid inside had a small note:

 ** _Take one only! The effects may be fatal!_**

 ** _-Weiss-_**

 _For fuck's sake. She's trying end things now with whatever was in that box._

Weiss couldn't see Ruby as several different Dust rounds rang through the air hitting Salem at all angles. Salem's yelps of pain and screams of frustration filled the air and their ears. Roman looked shocked seeing Salem getting hurt by something invisible. He turned around to see Mercury helping Yang out with her severely hurt stomach.

 _Who the hell is he with?_

"Weiss!" Mercury called.

Weiss' head whipped around to see Mercury waving a white box.

"She used all of them! I don't know what it is!"

 _SHE USED ALL OF THEM?!_

The color drained from Weiss' face.

"What did she use Weiss? Did she take something? Is that Ruby attacking Salem?" Roman called but Weiss was unable to respond.

 _I don't know how this will play out now… After everything… She may die too. I had warned her… Why would you do that Ruby?_

Ruby had a split second to see the condition her friends were in. She knew it was all or nothing. Despite the sick feeling her stomach had and the weird feeling in her leg where she injected all that serum… She felt incredible. She never knew something as powerful as the feeling she had… it was like the ultimate adrenaline rush.

Roman grabbed Weiss' shoulders. She looked at him with an unreadable look on her face.

"WHAT DID SHE TAKE?!" Roman screamed at the heiress.

Adam and Blake were busy trying to heal themselves but they heard the low whisper Weiss had spoken,

"Pure Faunus DNA."

Roman's arms dropped to his sides.

"Wh-what?"

"It was an experiment done hundreds to thousands of times. Every single result was literally different. The stronger the person the most effective it was but too much is life threatening or DNA altering."

"What do you mean 'DNA altering'?"

"She would require Faunus traits for a short time to permanent."

"That's… it?"

"She took all of it I had given her… She… She will heal at extreme rates but she may die… I told her-

"What was all of this for if you were planning to send her to an early grave?!" Roman screamed.

Tears were streaming down both of their faces.

"It was the last resort. I told her that. I swear Roman!"

"UGH!"  
Weiss grabbed his arm and squeezed tight, "We will stick with the plan. Do you understand?" she hissed angrily.

He froze seeing the look on her face.

"Ok."

"No way that is humanly possible."

Roman looked at Neo whos eyes were darting all over the place, "No _human_ is that fast. Was this your plan all along princess?"

"No and yes. This result is exceeding my expectations."

Mercury and Yang joined them finally.

"What is the plan now?"

"Oobleck… We are ready."

Ruby finally came to a halt slamming into a giant rock. The rubber on her boots had a burning smell to them. Salem was bleeding all over and she was messed up badly but it didn't stop her from standing up. She went to move in again but Weiss grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

"I need you to start heading out."

"What?"

Ruby stared at her.

"Oobleck has a plane of Dust explosives. He's headed this way. I have to ignite it. He's controlling it from a remote somewhere else."

"Weiss… I… Are you sure you can make it out?"

She pulled out her red box with the rose on top.

"I promise."

"You need anything else?"

Weiss held up her hands, "I need Crescent Rose."

She nodded and handed over her weapon.

"I find it odd you are unaffected by that serum. I guess you are so strong after all."

Ruby forced a smile.

"In the next hour… You need to relax. Your body will need time to heal."

"O-ok."

"Get everyone else out."

Ruby was gone in the matter of seconds dragging everyone out with her. They watched a giant plane went flying overhead. Ruby watched as it headed towards Salem who was trying everything to deflect it but she was too worn down for it. Weiss loaded a round into Crescent Rose and fired off the round as the plane was a foot or so from the villain who destroyed their world.

Weiss disappeared into the cloud and fire engulfing the area. Ruby screamed her friend's name but she never heard her. Roman threw her over his shoulder. They could hear the rumbling from the explosion. Everyone fell to the ground and the trees were blown away by the sheer force of it all.

Everything calmed down after ten minutes but Weiss was nowhere to be seen.

"WEISS!" Ruby screamed.

"Ruby stop-

She whipped around to face all of them.

"Did you guys know she was going to do that?! DID YOU KNOW!"

"She… she volunteered saying she was the only one who could do it," Blake stated quietly.

"You just let her do something so stupid?!"

Everyone looked ashamed, even Mercury.

"The whole point we got out alive! ALIVE! HOW CAN I GO ON KNOWING SHE TOLD ME SHE WOULD COME BACK OUT?! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO COME WITH US!"

Roman tried to embrace her but she shoved him away and fell onto the ground.

It had all been for nothing.

 ** _Dragoness of the Moon: lmao those updates almost didn't happen! Somehow my chapters I had finished and saved didn't load onto my laptop from my flash drive right. It had only downloaded seven chapters when I know I had finished up to 15. I almost threw my laptop in an angry rage lol all that work gone. I got lucky and it was on my flash drive intact. I was so happy!_**

 ** _Until next update! Almost to the end!_**


	17. Rebuild

"Ruby…" Blake and Yang sat down beside of her.

They tried hugging her and rubbing her back but she just wasn't having it.

"We are so sorry. It was hard for us too. We didn't want anyone to do it at all," Yang whispered, "She claimed she would come back with some damage but the chances were fifty-fifty."

Roman stared at the portal. Smoke and some fire were still leaking out. Mercury, Neo and Adam stood on the side watching. It was hard to see after everything they had been through. They had been enemies in the past with team RWBY but that no longer mattered. There was nothing to fight over anymore.

But at least their fate was theirs again.

Twenty minutes passed and the smoke finally cleared up.

"Should we start moving?" Neo asked hugging Yang.

Ruby sat there staring into the sun set.

"We might want to wait a little bit longer," Roman stated staring at his wife.

"Well… There is a stream a half mile away. Why don't we wash off?" Blake suggested and everyone nodded.

They were dirty covered in dirt and blood.

Forty minutes had passed and it was only Ruby with her husband, Roman. They sat in silence for the longest time. He didn't mind waiting with her. He knew she wasn't ready to walk away. Roman wanted to respect that.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Numb."

"I'm sorry Ruby… If I could I would go back and do it myself."

Her head snapped to the side, "Don't say that. Not after everything we had to do. Everyone should've walked out of there alive."

"I… Yea."

After a few minutes, Roman slipped his fingers through hers. She felt her heart speeding up to a pounding and the same familiar butterflies in her stomach. She looked up to him smiling at her- the same smile she remembered when they would meet up in the city at night. She had almost forgotten why she went all through Remnant to prepare herself for the day she would fight an evil being…

She did it all for him.

"I'm sorry. I'm being unreasonable."

"You're allowed to be."

Ruby squeezed his hand, "I missed you so much. You have no idea. You drove me every single day to keep going."

Roman placed his forehead against hers. His green eyes were watering up.

"It means so much to me that you feel that way. I was so scared you would never come back…"

 _Cough! Cough!_

 _ACK!_

The couple jumped then stumbled around as they stood up.

"Who's there?!" Roman yelled stepping in front of Ruby.

It was the strangest thing to see rocks and rubble coming out of thin air. Ruby's heart almost slowed to a stop thinking Salem had survived that horrible explosion. Roman watched as smoke and dust leaked out more until someone fell onto the ground. They didn't recognize whoever it was.

The person continued to cough.

"Who the hell are you?!" Roman yelled.

The person looked up and they saw the red eyes. Even she was covered in dust, ash and blood it was Emerald. She stood up just staring at them in a weird way. She spoke no words as more rocks fell out of the portal around her feet.

"Emerald? You're alive? Are you ok?" Roman asked stepping forward.

"I-I'm fine. What the hell happened?" she choked out.

She looked pretty beat up.

"We defeated Salem," Ruby said.

"I noticed… This weird looking Faunus saved me and told me the same thing."

"Weird Faunus?"

A woman jumped out next and she looked like she was in the same condition as Emerald.

 _Who is that?_

The woman had white hair with black spots and she looked a little thinner than Weiss was. She had black ears and her eyes were a bright, neon orange. Ruby pushed Roman out of the way and started running towards the Faunus before them. Something in her said that wasn't a weird Faunus at all…

"WEISS!"

The Faunus smiled and started running towards her. Ruby leaped into her arms knocking her to the ground.

"You! You made it!" she cried and started sobbing into her thin, bony shoulder.

"I made the promise to come back. We were all coming out no matter what."

Ruby and Weiss cried for a good few minutes. Once they both calmed down they pulled away from each other.

"Can… Can I touch your ears?" Ruby asked wiping her nose.

Weiss snickered.

"Sure."

Ruby rubbed her friend's brand-new ears. They were definitely real.

"How did you make it?"

"I did the same fool thing you did… Inject myself four times the legal dose. I realized my body had changed a lot more than I thought it would."

"It looks good on you."

Weiss blushed, "Thank you."

"Why did you… Why did you do that?" Ruby whispered.

"EMERLAD!"

It was hard to tell it was her but Mercury knew who she was. She looked so surprised to see him alive but she was relieved at the same time.

"You're ok?!"

Mercury embraced her with no intention to let go. Weiss got up without answering Ruby's question. She made a face but she decided not to press the situation until later.

Ruby watched as all of friends, old and new celebrated their slim of chance win. It had seemed everyone had grown so much within that time they were separated but… part of her was sad. What would they do now? Civilization had fallen and was there enough people to pick up the pieces or was this the end? She didn't have an answer.

"My queen."

Ruby smiled at Roman as he stood beside of her again.

"I don't want to leave your side again. If that is ok… I know you didn't want to go alone in the first place."

"That sounds good to me."

Ruby looked slightly surprised to see Emerald and Mercury hugging and kissing on each other.

"I knew those two liked each other," Roman whispered with a smirk on his face.

Ruby giggled, "I never saw it but I'm glad."

"Seems Ice Queen needs a companion."

Ruby made a face, "What? Yang and Neo don't have one either."

Roman ruffled up her hair.

"Sooooooo innocent. Neo and Yang have a thing going on… Neo filled me in."

Ruby opened her mouth and watched them. Roman wasn't wrong when she finally noticed they were holding hands like Adam and Blake were.

"I… I am a little surprised."

"It seems everyone here likes people who try to beat them up or kill them. I guess we are more twisted than we thought but I guess we no longer have any choice."

Ruby made a face feeling a little bad. She had beaten the crap out of Roman quite a few times.

"Weiss never said why she did it."

Roman's face darkened.

"That is up to her to say. As her older brother, I cannot release that information."

Ruby arched an eyebrow but said nothing.

X

X

A week of traveling together, they had decided to split into pairs, except Roman, Ruby and Weiss would go together this time. Roman, Ruby and Weiss would travel to Atlas. Yang and Neo would take Vale and Vacuo. Emerald and Mercury would take Haven. Blake and Adam would go to Menagerie. They would meet back in six months after looking for survivors at Beacon.

It was a few days later when Ruby finally had time alone with her teammate. Roman was off looking for whatever food he could find nearby until they hit the ocean in another day or so. Weiss looked relaxed and content sitting there by the fire but Ruby could tell something was wrong. Ruby scooted closer to her friend taking her hand.

"What is wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You seem out of it."

Weiss smiled but it fell quickly as fast as it showed on her face.

"I don't know how you would feel about it."

"Feel about what?" Ruby asked.

Weiss looked back at her.

"I couldn't even tell Roman."

Ruby made a weird face, "Do you like Roman?"

Weiss' eyes widened then she busted out in giggles, "Oh no! Nothing like that! I would never feel that way! He's too brotherly for me."

Weiss brushed her white hair out of her face.

"Well?"

"Bartholomew broke up with me a few months ago. Once we finished the plane's structure… He said he felt like it would be wrong to keep me from a much younger man who could do more for me."

"Professor Oobleck?!"

Weiss' face turned dark red.

"I didn't tell anyone."

"How… how?"

"I'm of age Ruby. I can do as I want."

Ruby made a slightly disgusted face but nodded.

"It's no different than you and Roman. Except he was a 'villain.'"

"Ok, ok point taken."

"We were just working on it and then… I caught him looking at me and we just got close over a month. Next thing I know we are tangled in ragged bed sheets in heat."

Ruby's face turned bright pink.

"He did all the wiring alone. He felt like I deserved better."

Ruby squeezed her hand, "Well… you two are polar opposites but I guess it would work. Maybe you two can get back together."

"I wish. I alerted him of the success but all he said was he would see me around."

Ruby looked at the fire.

"Is he the reason why you were willing to take that shot?" Ruby asked quietly.

Weiss squeezed her hand. She looked up to see those orange eyes overflowing with tears.

"If you hadn't showed up I would've taken the chance and killed myself."

The animal characteristics threw Ruby off because she looked like a sad kitty more than a sad person.

"Why?"

"I was afraid you had died. You were all alone. Roman and I were both scared. We never said it aloud but it was a constant thing on our minds."

"I understand."

"I fell so hard and fast… maybe because I was lonely. It's my fault."

"No, you aren't to blame."

"I suppose."

"Listen… Your life is worth living even with everything around us destroyed."

"If you were dead Ruby… I would've just ended myself there."

Ruby said nothing.

"I understand that. I was devastated thinking you were dead too. I was ready to hunt for you… I didn't care all I wanted was to get you. Roman tried his best to console me… I felt broken. Like I lost you…"

"I injected myself… because you were alive and that was enough reason to keep going even if Bartholomew didn't want me anymore."

"At least we have our happy ending," Ruby said, leaning her head against the heiress' shoulder.

"Yea," Weiss said sadly.

"He'll come back."

"I hope so."

"In the morning… We can go back."

Neither of them said anything for a while.

"I would like that," Weiss finally stated smiling at Ruby, "I really would."

 _~~~~The End~~~_

 ** _After seventeen chapters! I really loved this story and even though it was a happy ending, it was still kind of sad. Weiss had no intention of being that close up when she fired the kill shot but she had split second decision where she had decided living for her best friend was more important. Also... with the world gone it would be sad thinking no one else had made it. I hope you guys liked the story. I'll continue on my others to finish them before I release another Rosewick._**

 ** _Until the next story !_**


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